EKOS Communications, Inc.

Before leaving Jamaica, several weeks ago, I had an opportunity to hike through a portion of the St. Ann’s Forest Reserve near Oche Rios in the company of two men from the Hills United Development Organization (HUDO). This organization represents the interests of several tiny rural communities in the region. The two men were anxious to show me the area they hoped to develop as a nature trail with an interpretive/visitor centre.

One of the men, Mr. Wisdom (or Whizzy to his friends) lived up to his name in spades. He quickly proved to be a walking encyclopedia, reeling off the names of plants and their traditional uses, identifying bird calls that echoed off the deep bush, and describing the historic use of the area, starting with the slaves and running through to more recent watershed protection activities.

The forest certainly offered many strange encounters such as gigantic strangler figs; however, what made the trek so fascinating was the commentary by Whizzie. Consequently, I urged him and HUDO to include first person interpretation in their plans and not to rely solely on interpretive signs.

HUDO’s vision for a nature trail and visitor centre are very big and bold and one has to wonder where they will come up with the necessary resources to make the vision a reality. However, if there is anything I have come to believe it is this: never underestimate the power of a vision to so galvanize determination that any obstacle is overcome. With Mr. Wisdom championing the trail and centre, I won’t be surprised to return in 3 - 5 years to see them in place and providing visitors with an invaluable learning experience.