KINGSTON, Feb. 8 (JIS): BY: LATONYA LINTON
Construction of a newly designed eastern entrance for the Hope Royal Botanical Gardens in St. Andrew, is in keeping with the reimaging of the gardens, making it more attractive to visitors.
The project is being financed by the Culture, Health, Arts, Sports and Education (CHASE) Fund.
Chairman, Nature Preservation Foundation, Alfred Thomas, said the long-term plan is to bring Hope Botanical Gardens on par with visitor attractions such as Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in London and the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens in Miami, Florida.
Mr. Thomas noted that up to 2019 there were 1.5 million persons visiting the gardens.
“We want… after COVID is settled and after COVID is no longer around, to move the number up to 2.2 million people who will come into the gardens to see what is there and for the children of Jamaica to enjoy,” Mr. Thomas added.
He was speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony for the new eastern entrance for Hope Royal Botanical Gardens on February 2.
Mr. Thomas said the plan is to improve the branding of Hope Gardens.
“We want to give school children the opportunity to come here to enjoy the beautiful garden that is here. Our objectives are clear. We want to explore the economic benefit of growing medicinal trees here. That's why we are partnering with the Indian government, because they have perfected that,” he pointed out.
“What we want to do is to expand the number of trees that are growing here to support the environment, which is very, very important. We want to partner with University of Technology, Jamaica and The University of the West Indies for the students who are doing science to come here, and to do research like they do in [Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew] and Fairchild,” Mr. Thomas added.
Architectural and urban designer, Jacqueline Douglas Brown, said her team is pleased to be a part of this project.
“They saw it as a catalyst in renewing what is already a beautiful Hope Gardens. Our entrance tells us a lot about who we are [and] we don't like the story it is telling now, so we are hoping with this new entrance to invite more children and more people into the gardens by virtue of what we have designed,” Mrs. Douglas Brown said.
“We were very careful to incorporate environmentally friendly solutions of solar energy and rainwater harvesting even in this small architectural unit. This is the beginning of renewed hope, and my team, we are happy to be a part of this,” she added.
Explaining the design of the new entrance, Mrs. Douglas Brown said the security post has been moved farther down the driveway.
“What we have done is to carry the security post farther down this driveway, so that we take the cars off the road when the gardens are being used by large numbers of persons. You will also see that we have incorporated landscaping going towards the security post. We have made it comfortable for the persons who will be in the post,” she explained.
Meanwhile, Mr. Thomas informed that the lighting for the new entrance is being developed by FosRich and Phillips Lighting.
He noted that the lights will be used to attract more visitors to the venue and encourage corporate Jamaica to advertise in the area.
“What we will discuss with our board… is that there is a possible economic benefit we can get, because other persons may want to put their logo on these special lights. So, we will do a business plan and then we go to commercial Jamaica and put up advertising space, not overbearing, but something that is ingrained and is a part of the psyche of Hope Gardens,” Mr. Thomas said.
During the construction period, entrance to the gardens will be via the original entrance near the intersection of Old Hope Road and Garden Boulevard and exit via Rocky Road, near the Management Institute for National Development (MIND).
Work on the project is scheduled to last for eight weeks.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries has responsibility for the Hope Botanical Gardens and Zoo, which is being managed, since May 2005, by the Nature Preservation Foundation.
The Foundation’s functions include improving the aesthetics and biological content of the Gardens, with an emphasis on conservation of species endemic to Jamaica.
The property is owned by the Government of Jamaica through the National Land Agency.
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