Secretary-General, Project Officer National Commission for UNESCO of MAB National Committee visits several sites in Nevis

St Kitts and Nevis: The Secretary-General and Project Officer for St Kitts and Nevis National Commission for UNESCO and eleven (11) members of the MAB National Committee visited several sites on Nevis. The first site visited was the Nevis Heritage Village at Fothergills Estate, Gingerland, Nevis, a five (5) acre spread displaying the ‘evolution of Nevisian social history through a living village’. The landscape is dotted with residential structures which house artefacts representing different historical periods, from slavery to the present day.

Manager Tessa Manners welcomed us at the Orientation Centre, and we were treated to cold towels by Sheryl Tyrell. Supervisor Derrick Liburd and Trainee Azalia Percival accommodated the group tour presenting general information at each cabin. The promenade through the well-manicured, breathtaking flower gardens, as well as the photography session (crowd-favourite) at the pond, were highlights of the visit.

As the MAB National Committee continues its thrust to upgrade the St Mary’s Biosphere Reserve (SMBR), the visit to this site provided ideas that could inform the layout of Hermitage Estate, Cayon, the future home of the MAB Secretariat.

Our discussion about the operations at the Solid Waste Facility at Long Point was facilitated by General Manager Andrew Hendrickson and Rudy Browne, Operations Manager. As we await approval from UNESCO of our ‘Sensitisation on the Elimination of Single-use Plastic in the St Mary’s Biosphere Reserve’ project proposal, we take this time to assess the state of the landfills and compare what happens on both islands; determine the volume of plastic waste deposited at the landfills and see where and how they are disposed of; discover if waste segregation takes place and how the materials are treated prior to disposal or recycling.

A similar visit to the Solid Waste Facility in St Kitts will be scheduled soon. Since these two facilities will feature prominently when undertaking the upcoming project, the committee is keen to establish working relationships/partnerships at this early stage.

We express profound thanks to the staff at both facilities in Nevis for the major roles in ensuring that our visit was successful, enjoyable and safe.

Our gratitude is also extended to the Nevis Department of Education for graciously providing the service of transportation by use of a school bus. Thanks to Frank Nisbett, assigned driver, for extending his courtesy and sharing extensive knowledge of the many historical sites we visited.

We are also grateful to Patron and the staff at Taste of Eden for the refreshing lunch.

Thanks to Tonesha Fraites-Jeffers, Senior Clerk, St Kitts and Nevis National Commission for UNESCO, for coordinating the trip.

Cottle Church, Bath Springs and Fort Charles were other visited sites.