At a meeting on Friday November 25 in the Conference Room of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport in the Pine, Minister John Boyce advised a group of interested citizens and MTW staff, that indeed, after much consultation and research on other options, the Silk Cotton Tree in Warrens – opposite the Baobab tree – will need to be removed.

Minister Boyce was speaking to a group which included David Spieler representing the Flower Forest and Earthworks pottery, Mr Reginald Medford – Medford’s Mahogany, Mr Dave Scantlebury – MTW, Mr Nigel Jones – Natural Heritage Department (NHD), Mr Abdul Pandoor – Consulting Engineer to the Warrens Project, Dr John Webster – Landscape Designer, Mr Kammie Holder – PRO for the Future Centre Trust, Permanent Secretary Mr Lionel Nurse, Mr Steve Devonish – Natural Heritage Department, Mr Mark Brathwaite – Consulting Landscape Architect to NHD and myself. This was in fact the second meeting called in recent weeks, with Dr Karl Watson and Ms Mia Mottley attending the previous meeting to offer their views.

It would appear that the main reason for the take down of the tree is related to cost. The landowner, after consultation with the Ministry, requested a sum of millions, which would in fact mean the acquisition of the entire land space surrounding the tree.

The discussion of the tree was brought to the attention of the FCT earlier this year with a large push on social media sites including Facebook, by Mr Kammie Holder. Mr Holder has pursued the matter since this time and has been a keen advocate for the tree.

During the meeting, the Minister highlighted the plans for the entire Warrens area and explained that the aim of the MTW was in fact “not to build as many roundabouts in Barbados, but to enable the traffic to move through Warrens in a speedy way.” Mr Steve Devonish of the NHD then explained the plan for green spaces and tree planting within the area, with specifics of species in each area indicated by Mr Brathwaite.

One main theme that arose from the discussion was the amount of privately owned land in Warrens which could prevent the area being transformed into a much greener thoroughfare in the future. Those from the private sector were encouraged to seek out land owners and lobby them to consider including trees in their various site plans.

So for now, the Silk Cotton Tree will be removed in short time. There are plans, depending on the condition of the tree, to use the trunk as a memorial to centenarians in the area and to re-use as much of the tree as possible. The support over the past ten or so months has not gone unnoticed by the Ministry with Minister Boyce explaining the plan to embrace the BAC Project – ‘Beyond Asphalt and Concrete’- as a way forward for any future road developments. They will be seeking means and ways to include as much green planning in the initial stages as possible to ensure reference to the physical environment and planting back of greenery.

Thank you Minister Boyce for taking the time to listen to the concerns of the people and we look forward to hearing more from the Ministry as it plans to plant more trees in the area including 3 silk cottons to assist in carbon offsets in the future for the tree that needs to be removed.

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On Tuesday November 15, 2011, the Ellerton Primary School became the latest officially launched recipient of a CoRe NETWORK Recycling Centre with thanks to the FCT and funding from the Coca-Cola Foundation. The project would not be in full swing without the sheer hard work and dedication to recycling, the environment of Barbados and the desire to see communities benefit from their man made waste, from Mrs Vicky Merrick! Thanks Vicky!

Ellerton Primary School’s past Principal, Mrs Barker and is an avid recycler. In her last few months at the school, she applied to the programme for a Centre to be installed at Ellerton. It took some time, and through Mrs Barker’s persistence and love for the school, the centre was officially launched by local MP, Dr The Honourable Esther Byer-Suckoo (or Auntie Dr Esther as she is often referred to by the students and children of the area!) and dignitaries. The launch as was attended by representatives from both the Ministry of Education and Environment, the FCT and of course Staff, Students and Teachers of the school.

Ellerton Primary is the first government school to receive a Centre under this initiative and it is such a wonderful thing to be able to assist such a willing and eager team in the achievement of recycling goals as the team at Ellerton.

We thank all who made the time to be present for the occasion and wish Ellerton the very best of luck as they work to educate their school community and by extension, the Ellerton Community, on the benefits of recycling.

Thanks to Shawn Cumberbatch of Barbados Today and Kerri Gooding from The Advocate for their coverage seen here:

Thanks to Barbados Today for their coverage here

Thanks also for the coverage here – Ellerton Primary with the Advocate

Here are some of the images from the event from the FCT Roving Camera folks – on this day Ayana Moosa and Nicole Garofano!

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The FCT is now happy to announce that we have a Volunteer Volunteer Coordinator now in place! Cecilia Stallard has offered her volunteer hours to the FCT to assist in this role and will be the ‘go to’ person for any enquiries on volunteering with the FCT in the future.

Right now we are working on refining the list of volunteer offers from the previous two years with the intention of contacting those persons for an update on their current ability to assist. These folks will then be matched with opportunities for volunteers within the current project areas. Cecilia will then put the volunteers in touch with the Project Coordinators who will review the task at hand.

Cecilia can be contacted on her FCT phone which was donated by Digicel earlier this year as part of the Digicel package on 836 6188 or by email to volunteer@futurecentretrust.org

If you would like to volunteer with the FCT, please download the form found on this page: http://futurecentretrust.org/main/resource-centre and then either scan and email to Cecilia’s address or send it to the FCT Resource Centre and we will forward the information on.

Thanks in advance for your patience as Cecilia gets herself aligned with all of the current work and is then able to get in touch with you.

Welcome Cecilia!

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GOT SOME RECYCLABLE MATERIAL – IE PLASTIC, GLASS, METAL FOOD GRADE CONTAINERS THAT NEED RECYCLING???

If you are in the St Thomas area over the weekend, drop your washed out, lids off recyclables to the FCT Recycling Area in the carpark of our Little Edgehill property. You will see the FCT sign on the road and the signs for the area!

Our weekly pick up needs to be worth it for B’s! Make things easy for yourself and make a contribution to the FCT with your clean recyclables!

This area accepts mostly food grade items, but for everything else that can be recycled, check our link here: http://futurecentretrust.org/main/resource-centre.

Thanks in advance for your contribution!

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On Wednesday October 26 , 2011, an historical event took place at around 4:45pm in the evening – the Grand Unveiling of the Hastings Mural!

After some three weeks of work by our tiler, Rusty, based on the design work of David Spieler, the mural was ready to be unveiled. But how to unveil a 100+foot piece of artwork on a public wall?

Cover it with reel end newsprint from the Nation Publishing of course! After some 45 minutes Vicky, Ayana and Nicole managed to tape up the mural with paper that will of course be recycled, in order to have a special ceremony where children’s unwrapping skills were the order of the day!

Seen here, thanks to the photography of Tracey Simpson, children were more than happy to do the unwrapping!

The ‘unwrapping’ of the mural followed a formal ceremony where Dr Julia Horrocks, Director of the Barbados Sea Turtle Project spoke of the importance of Barbados’ role in conserving the sea turtle habitats and indeed the species, which is the focus of the mural project. Dr Leo Brewster , Director of the Coastal Zone Management unit, complimented the concept and was happy to see a solution to the ‘blank wall’ that was part of the Boardwalks’ development, and Mr Tyrone Lowe, Chairman of the National Conservation Commission spoke of the continuing partnership with the FCT with this project no exception.

All who attended the ceremony and the ‘unwrapping’ felt the sense of a worthwhile project being completed for generations to come, of both visitors to Barbados and locals alike, to admire.

It is with thanks to our sponsors and partners to this project that it was able to be taken from idea to reality:

• David Spieler
• Earthworks Pottery
• Tourism Development Corporation

Gold Partners:

• KPMG
• Barbados Fertility Centre

Silver Partners:

• Blakeys Bar and Restaurant
• Art Splash Cafe
• Tapas Restaurant

And of course our FCT Platinum Sponsor, Barbados Light and Power Co Ltd

Thanks also to our media partners on the day, The Barbados Advocate (Thanks to Ms Kerri Gooding) and to Barbados Today (Thanks to Mr Shawn Cumberbatch) as seen in this image.

Thank you to everyone for enabling such a beautifully educational landmark!

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With the Future Centre Trust’s experience in waste management projects, the Travel Foundation saw the organisation as a natural partner as it continued a hotel focused programme to reduce environmental impacts.

Project Coordinator, Lani Edghill, has been hard at work on this project for some months with a number of assistant interns, initially from the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, – students Tanya King and Simonique Welch and supplemented by students from the Bellairs Research Institute Field Studies Semester out of McGill University, Laura Pinkham, Adrienne Pacini and Chris Wong. Also joining the team is Ayana Moosa, who has been working with the FCT in a number of roles since March, and has found an appropriate avenue for her interest in recycling in this project.

The Travel Foundation has this to say on the concept and their goals for this initiative:

“The Travel Foundation has been working with hoteliers in the Caribbean since 2009 on a project to save water and energy,  called ‘Switch off, Save Big’. This project assisted hoteliers in reducing their water and energy consumption and,  to date, collectively the hotels have saved close to £1 million on their water and energy bills. This has resulted in them being able to utilize the savings in other areas of their businesses, including retention of staff.

In May 2011, the Travel Foundation partnered with The Future Centre Trust, Barbados,  and extended the programme to include waste prevention and reduction. The partnership aims to ensure that hoteliers receive the relevant tools required to implement a waste prevention programme in their hotel. This project will run until May 2012, providing training on implementing waste reduction measures and recommendations.

It is estimated that by implementing the reduction measures, hoteliers can reduce their overall waste by 10%. This can also have a positive impact in terms of reduction on the hotel’s overall expenditure. All hotels involved in the project will receive a final waste audit report, along with their reduction comparisons over the one year period.

Hoteliers interested in reducing their water, waste and energy consumption should visit www.thetravelfoundation.org.uk/greener-accommodations for free online tools.

This project is part of a range of water, energy and waste reduction initiatives run by the Travel Foundation. The Travel Foundation is a UK charity that cares for the places we love to visit. You can find out more at www.thetravelfoundation.org.uk

The project has so far completed work at the following hotels, each in different stages:

• Dover Beach Hotel
• Divi Southwinds Hotel
• Southern Palms Hotel
• Plum Tree
• Coconut Court
• Accra Beach Hotel
• Bougainvillea Hotel
• Crystal Cove
• Worthing Court
• Butterfly Beach

We look forward to seeing some major reductions of waste that would otherwise head to the landfill from this project with a minimum of 50% of waste audited thus far, recoverable for composting or recycling.

Thanks to Lani for leading the way on this one and for all of our student contributions and to Susan Mahon and Jill Parlee of the Bellairs Research Institute for their support and recommendation of this project to the McGill students for this year.

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