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Dominica Botanic Gardens
  • Home
  • About
    • Introduction to Website
    • A Brief History
    • Plan of Gardens
    • Contemporary Commentary
  • Botanic Gardens
    • Selected Trees and Shrubs
    • Medicinal Plants
    • Gardens Activities
    • Florida's Fairchild Garden
    • Parrot and Small Animal Sanctuary
    • Birds of the Gardens
    • Three Virtual Tours
    • Panoramic Views Today
    • Early Panoramic Views
    • Hurricane David's Ravages
    • Future Developments
    • Curators and Administrators
    • Reports and Documents
    • Getting Involved
    • Related Links
  • Hosted Sites
    • Honorees
    • Island Scholars
    • Cabinet Photos
    • Treasures of the Cathedral
    • Diaspora Policy Paper
  • DAAS
  • Contact

Preface - How It Began


This website, the first of its kind in the Caribbean, is an outcome of the recommendations of the  Diaspora Policy Paper  prepared by the Dominica Academy of Arts and Science (DAAS) for the Dominica Government, and delivered in October 2004. The Paper reviewed the mutual roles of the Dominican Diaspora and the Dominican Government in Dominican economic development and Diaspora welfare; and it laid out a series of recommendations to further those objectives. Some could be undertaken privately while others would require Government intervention.

One of the recommendations was the improvement of the Botanic Gardens -- as a retreat where Dominicans can appreciate and enjoy nature, as a national gem we can be proud of, and as an important tourist attraction. These improvements would include replanting the exotic trees destroyed by Hurricane David or which died from disease, re-establishing the economic crops section, reopening the Upper Garden Path and Jackswalk, and developing specialized mini-gardens such as heliconia, anthurium, rose and orchid mini-gardens, among other initiatives.

The website, in the first instance, is intended to showcase the Gardens and its potential, for the benefit of local and international Botanic Gardens enthusiasts, and then to be a vehicle for the redevelopment and maintenance of the Gardens. Photographs for the site are being contributed by various people, as noted in the credits. We would also welcome photos, current or historical, from other individuals as well; they too would be given appropriate credit.
    The site is being developed by  Davison Shillingford    and  Clayton Shillingford, with degrees in Agriculture and Botany, respectively - the Content Coordinators, and by  Raglan Riviere, with a degree in Sociology and a wealth of experience in website development - our Webmaster. Dave, Clayton and Raglan were denizens of the Gardens as kids, with wonderful memories playing and studying there, and they have visited several great Gardens in the Caribbean, North America and Europe, thus their interest in the Dominica Gardens and its potential for development into a world class Botanic Gardens.

The authors would like to acknowledge the assistance of personnel from Kew Gardens, the Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), and the Forestry Division of Dominica. In particular, for reviewing the original prototype, we want to acknowledge the contribution of Dr Dennis Adams, former Botany Professor at the University of the West Indies,  Dr Dan Nicolson  of the Smithsonian Institution and author of Flora of Dominica, Part 2: Dicotyledoneae,  Ms. Suzanne Sharrock  of BGCI, and  Mr. Colin Bully   of Dominica, a past Curator of the Gardens. Mr. Eric Hypolite of the Dominica Forestry Division and Dr. Loudes Rico of Kew helped with plant identification. We also wish to acknowledge those who provided photographs of plants and activities in the Gardens, including those whose plant photos were available to us on the internet. We are grateful to all of them for their consideration, support and constructive suggestions.
​​Gardens Introduction

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Preface - How it Began
Introduction to Website
A Brief History
Plan of Gardens 
Contemporary Commentary​
​Trees, Shrubs, Birds

​
​
Selected Trees and Shrubs
Medicinal Plants
​
Gardens Activities
  Florida's Fairchild Garden
Parrot/Animal Sanctuary
Birds of the Gardens
Garden Views

​
​
Three Virtual Tours
Panoramic Views Today
Early Panoramic Views
 
Hurricane David's Ravages
Future Developments
Curators/Administrators
Reports and Documents
  
Getting Involved
Related Links
Sub-sites

​

Honorees
Island Scholars
Cabinet Photos
​​Treasures of the Cathedral

​Diaspora Policy Paper
​

Visit the DAAS  Website
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Copyright © -  Davison Shillingford, Clayton Shillingford and (the late) Raglan Riviere