The Neighbours Time Forgot: A Journey of Rediscovery
The Cayman Islands has experienced an explosion of population and physical development that has rapidly changed the landscape. As the way has been paved for people, the beings and features that give these Islands their distinct character are often removed. In shape shifting the land, some have forgotten what even makes this work possible.
On this planet, human life is viable within a very narrow range of biological and physical conditions. Those conditions are created through relationships between living beings and other parts of the Earth system, like the sun, atmosphere, and water. Physics explains the forces and energy transfers that drive everything.
It may be cliché to say, but it is a fact that every ‘part’ is connected. At the same time, we are each unique and incredibly different – a truth that allows life to sustain itself even when disaster strikes. But this boundary between where you end and I begin can create an illusion of separateness-to-the-point-of-disconnectedness. This is even more stark when we look to our non-human neighbors.
Phyllanthus angustifolius - Duppy Bush.
The entire stretch from the mangrove forest to the seagrass beds to the coral reef is understood by marine ecologists to be an inseparable continuum – where one ends the other begins. Each habitat is distinct in their own right yet is deeply entangled together in the web of life. At one time, humanity understood how they belong to nature’s matrix amongst millions of other beings.
Inside the new native plants nursery at Queen Elizabeth II Botanical Park
Walking down almost any road marked by urbanization, you can almost be sure that the plants dotting the street side and courtyards don’t belong. You’re likely to see fronds of imported palms and a flamboyant palette of ‘tropical’ colours – to those who know our Caymanian neighbours in the Plantae kingdom, this looks like an invasion.
An estrangement with what is now compartmentalized into a space called ‘nature’ has caused us to lose knowledge and intuition of what does belong and why. Native plants have been replaced with foreigners from faraway places, sometimes competing with locals for space. Alien species can change the character of an area so much that natives can’t re-establish themselves – they find that they no longer belong.
Salvia caymanensis - Cayman sage
The disappearance of Cayman’s native plants does not come without consequence to the rest of Cayman’s wild tapestry. From the insects that pollinate our endemics flowers, to the birds and reptiles that maintain our unique dry forests: when one species is lost, so are others, as well as the value they add to the community.
Eons have shaped the relationships between and amongst the living and the non-living. Threats have emerged in a relatively short timeframe that have caused some of our native wildlife to become imperiled. The good news is that you can help address at least two of these threats.
Agave caymanensis - Cayman Agave
Through Darwin Plus Local, a UK-funded grant programme, the Queen Elizabeth Botanic Park II has established a native plant nursery. This nursery is focused on growing select native species that can be purchased by the public. Whether you have space for extensive landscaping or just a few potted plants on your porch, every native plant that is reintroduced into Cayman’s landscape helps. This is the start of repairing forgotten connections to the more-than-human world and to each other.
Coccothrinax proctorii - Silver Thatch Palm
For information about the native plant nursery, email info@botanic-park.ky.
Visit www.gov.ky/nationaltreeplanting to learn about the Ministry’s National Tree Planting Programme.
