Recent visitors would have noticed, as you come down the driveway, a newly cleared area, through which the Arima River flows. This is being cleared to open the area for planting some big trees to create a high canopy over the stream. But it also brought some interesting “visitors”. One mid-morning in late March, gardener Ranbarran Bharath went to check the trees he had planted, and met two collared peccaries (Pecari tajacu) in the stream! Known locally as Quenk, these two did not appear concerned at human presence, and walked slowly off through the bamboo.

Naturally we are all delighted at the increasing number of animal species being sighted at Spring Hill over the past few months.

 

Although it has been a rainy dry season up at Spring Hill, the sun shone through on Wednesday 4th as Germaine Hospedales exchanged marriage vows with Joseph Hopkins. This happy couple had their morning Wedding Ceremony conducted on the beautiful Asa Wright Verandah, with about thirty-five family members and close friends present. Blessed with sunshine and the beautiful panoramic view down the Arima Valley, the formal ceremony then moved out to the beautiful Jade Vine Arbor for the reception.
In a setting decorated with the naturally beautiful hanging Jade Vine flowers, and exquisite cut wild flowers from the Spring Hill gardens, the happy couple entertained their guests at a luncheon prepared and served by the Asa Wright Staff.
We believe that weddings celebrated at Spring Hill will result in long and happy marriages! We wish Joseph and Germaine every blessing, and hope that they will return to enjoy our setting and hospitality on their future Anniversaries!

 

While Asa Wright did not enter a team in this year’s “Pot Spoon” local cuisine competition at Blanchisseuse, in early July, members of our staff, led by Food and Beverage Supervisor Joanne Singh-Ramlal, and including Mariana, Kerron and Pamela took up the challenge and swept the prizes for the categories they entered! Well done to the “sweet han” crew of chefs from Spring Hill!

The celebration of St. Valentine’s Day is a relatively new custom to Trinidad and Tobago, brought to us largely by American influences. But it has caught on beautifully here, and has become an important occasion for celebrating with one’s partner, “hope‑to‑be” partner, or just dear friends. Romantic cards, gifts and special meals dominate the agenda of lovers on St. Valentine’s Day.
Lodge Manager Ann Sealey, realising that some couples do come up to Asa Wright for their wedding ceremonies, thought that we should offer a suitable prelude to future weddings at Spring Hill. So, we hosted our first ever St. Valentine’s Day Lunch Special on Monday 14th February, and although this was a normal working day, 17 couples wended their way along the Arima Blanchisseuse Road to enjoy the romantic wilderness of Spring Hill.
The lunch of grilled chicken breast, stuffed baked potatoes, stir‑fried vegetables and Caesar Salad, with Black Forest cake for dessert came with a complimentary glass of wine, plus a complimentary guided tour of a Nature Trail. We were pleased not to have lost any of our couples in the Garden of Eden ambience of our beautiful forests and streams! But we do anticipate that some of them will return, hopefully to share their marriage vows here where Cupid was helped by beautifully singing birds and butterflies dancing on sunbeams. If you are disappointed that you missed this, you have less than a year to wait for next St. Valentine’s Day!
February 2011

In our ongoing drive to make our fellow citizens more aware of the Centre and its benefits, Asa Wright Nature Centre presented ourselves at the Trinidad and Tobago Business Expo 2010 held from 18th through 21st November. This annual trade fair, held this year at the Dr. João Havelange Centre of Excellence in Macoya, attracts hundreds of exhibitors and thousands of visitors.
The Asa Wright exhibit was of course different to many of the manufacturing and business displays. It was set up by a team led by June Rampersad of Front Desk. Designed to create a rain forest atmosphere, our booth attracted hundreds of interested persons.
Many of these admitted that they had never visited us, and promised that they would be doing so soon. We wait to see if our outreach to our fellow “Trinis” will bring a new interest from locals to our Centre.
November 2010

The Board of Management of the Asa Wright Nature Centre met at Spring Hill on November 5th and 6th for the 43rd Annual General Meeting.
The meeting coincided with the Hindu Festival of Divali, which celebrates the triumph of Light over Darkness. And the light shone a little more brightly for the Centre, as there are signs of a recovery from the international debt crisis which reduced our overseas visitor arrivals two years ago.
The Members elected Dr. Judith Gobin to serve as the new Chairman of the Board. Judi has served on the Board since 2005, and was Committee Chairman of the Education and Outreach Committee. She is a lecturer at the University of the West Indies (UWI), St Augustine campus, in the Department of Life Sciences.
She replaces Dr. Carol James, who had served as Chairman for the past six years, and under whose leadership the Centre’s Outreach and Conservation Programmes were enhanced, and the first real business partnerships and diversification of its core services were formed with corporate T&T. Carol will continue to sit on the Board, as Chairman of the Sustainable Development and Outreach Committee, so her knowledge and experience will continue to be with us.
Other changes saw Patricia Ganase and Phil Schaeffer also being elected to the Board.
Pat is happy to be “in the bush”. She is a family person first and foremost, and travels with husband Ranji Ganase; son Orion and daughter Anjani top their agenda. In order to fulfill these dreams, she works diligently at Atlantic LNG progressing their Corporate Responsibility Agenda – this after a career in publishing, advertising and communications. Pat is replacing Dr. Charles De Gannes, who had served on the board for 23 years. However, as he goes, “Charleau” will be leaving us with his new book on Butterflies of T&T.
Phil Schaeffer has been associated with Asa Wright for many years before joining the Board. He and his wife Margret operated Caligo Tours, our principal booking agency in the United States. He was a Naturalist with the Audubon Society and it was through this that he visited Spring Hill and eventually set up his tour business to bring more people to us. Phil is replacing John Moyle of the United States who has retired after serving 31 years on the Board of Trustees.
We all thank Charleau and John for their long and generous service to the Centre. And we welcome a new Chairman and two new Board members to lead us to a brighter conservation future.
It should be noted too that Board members are delighted with the encouraging progress in the recovery of fellow board member Robyn Cross, and wish her continued success with her healing.
Past Chairman of Asa Wright Nature Centre Dr. Carol James (right) warmly congratulates and welcomes the new Chairman, Dr. Judith Gobin in her new role.
November 2010

As October looms ahead, we look forward to our reopening after being closed for the month of September.
Normally we close for two weeks every September, for maintenance and light repairs. But this year, our dear “old lady”, the Main House, needed more comprehensive treatment.
While Francis Lewis and his maintenance crew undertook the heavier repairs, the rest of the staff, Housekeeping and Nature Guides included, picked up paint brushes and repainted all the internal walls and floors.
All of this “fix-up” has resulted in the place looking brighter and neater, and ready for the influx of year-end visitors we expect.
September 2010

Asa Wright hosted two beautiful wedding ceremonies, joining families who understand and appreciate the beauty of Nature’s own setting.
On August 27, Deborah and Omari exchanged their vows at Spring Hill. Having organised her bridal shower at Spring Hill on the night before the wedding, Deborah certainly would have received Showers of Blessings! Their ceremony was held in the lovely Jade Vine Arbour, and the reception followed in the Jonnie Fisk Centre, where their 80 guests celebrated with the happy couple.
Then, on September 24, Kerrie and Devin also celebrated their wedding at Spring Hill. They too chose the Jade Vine Arbour for the ceremony, and the Jonnie Fisk Centre for their reception with 86 family members and friends joining them. Kerrie is a member of the Pawi Research Group, currently doing work on this endemic but rare bird. Asa Wright was a natural choice for her!
Catering for both celebrations was done by Food and Beverage Manager Joanne Ramlal and her staff, and we hung a full moon in the sky for each occasion!
September 2010

August 2010
The Asa Wright Nature Centre is collaborating with Dr. Theo Ferguson, developer of the leadership development programme, Leading From Above The Line, in the hosting of a series of monthly one-day Introspective Retreats. Four very successful retreats, which are open to the public, have been held to date.
The next retreat is scheduled for 3rd October 2010. These Introspective Retreats are helping individuals to retreat from the “busyness” of living in order to better reflect on their true life intentions and to determine corrective actions they may need to make to improve the quality of their lives. Specifically, participants have been benefiting by:
Having a better understanding of themselves and their true intentions in life.
• Learning to harness their personal power through a better understanding of the five sources of inner power.
• Developing greater leadership awareness through a better understanding of their leadership potential.
Dr. Ferguson sees the Asa Wright Nature Centre, world-renowned as a place of peace, tranquillity and nature, as an ideal venue for the retreats. He has now decided to use the Asa Wright Nature Centre as the venue for his 8-day Leadership Self-Discovery Retreat commencing October 2010. And his other major interest is being an outstanding bird photographer, who has a permanent exhibit of some of his work in the Dining Room of the Asa Wright Great House. A special edition album of his work was presented by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago to the visiting heads of State at last year’s Summit of the Americas and Commonwealth Heads of Government meetings in Port of Spain.

Jason Radix heading of to be operations manage Blue Waters Inn
In this issue we bid farewell to one of our Asa Wright staff stalwarts – Jason Radix. Jason left us in July to take up the position of Operations Manager at the Blue Waters Inn, Speyside, Tobago, and we congratulate him on this move, but look forward to cooperating with him on an ongoing basis. Many of the overseas visitors to Spring Hill also include a visit to Blue Waters as part of their visit to Trinidad and Tobago, so we will continue to be in touch with Jason.
Jason first came to Asa Wright during the August school vacation of 1992. He says that his aunt, who was working as a kitchen supervisor, brought him here, and he immediately fell in love with the place. Spending time on the verandah he learned the names of the birds and the flowers and plants upon which they fed, and then began to help identifying these to guests. This “help” got him recruited by the manager, and soon Jason was helping two other tour guides with tours of Spring Hill.
He finished school and returned to work at Asa Wright as a tour guide and also enrolled at the Trinidad and Tobago Hospitality and Tourism Institute where he acquired an associate degree in Tourism Management. He then entered the University of the West Indies to get his full degree in Tourism Hospitality and Management, and then continued postgraduate studies in this field.
While at university he continued to work at Asa Wright, progressing through the ranks of Tour Guide, Front Desk Supervisor, Marketing Assistant to eventually become Marketing Manager. One of his responsibilities was the preparation and production of the BellBird Newsletter, and it is here that he will be especially missed! We all wish Jason the very best in his new position, and look forward to sharing guests with him in the future. And, for those who may not know, the aunt who first brought him to Spring Hill is Ann Sealey, now Lodge Manager of the Centre!
July 2010