Dominica Botanic Gardens

Dominica Botanic Gardens
Roseau, Commonwealth of Dominica, West Indies

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.