ST. EUSTATIUS BOTANICAL GARDEN 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

ST. EUSTATIUS BOTANICAL GARDEN 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Oranjestad. Ten years ago the Miriam C. Schmidt Botanical Garden was inaugurated with the objective of preserving the native flora and fauna of St. Eustatius. Since then the garden has grown in size and stature with public gardens including a Sensory Garden, Palm Garden, Lookout Garden, Children’s Garden, and Fruit Garden. The Garden has also been featured in the 2009 publication ‘1001 Gardens to See Before You Die’, highlighting just how far it has come in ten short years. St. Eustatius National Parks (STENAPA) will be hosting three weeks of festivities beginning November 29 to commemorate this accomplishment.

During the first week of events STENAPA would like to invite the public to join in the celebrations at the garden with activities for young and old alike. Beginning on Sunday November 29, daily guided tours of the garden will be available, with free copies of the new Botanical Garden Visitors Guide for the first 100 visitors to the garden! To kick off the celebrations, there will be an evening food sale on Wednesday 2^nd December which will be followed by a rare opportunity to view the garden lit by the full moon. Everyone is invited to a botanical garden fete on Friday 4^th December, with many fun activities including face painting, relay races, arts and crafts, and much more. The official opening of the Children’s Garden will take place at the end of the fete, where the new Botanical Garden Visitors Guide will be available to purchase for the first time. The winners of the children’s and adult’s arts, crafts and poetry competition will also be recognised with prizes. The following two weeks will see school visits to the garden with hands-on garden activities including a scavenger hunt with STENAPA’s Junior Rangers. Throughout the month there will also be a photo exhibition featuring before and after pictures from the development of the Botanical Garden.

If you would like to find out more information about the Miriam Schmidt Botanical Garden and the 10 year anniversary celebration, including competition details, please contact the St. Eustatius National Parks office.

Nicole Esteban

Manager St. Eustatius National Parks

Gallows Bay

St Eustatius

Netherlands Antilles

Tel/ fax: (599) 318 2884

E-mail: manager@statiapark.org or

stenapa@goldenrocknet.com

Web: www.statiapark.org