The National Trust office has seen some changes with more to come shortly – it’s good to have the opportunity to work as Director for a month, with the hope of returning to it next year, and to have Phyllis Coleman in post as the new Administrative Assistant. I shall provide support in the UK and Rebecca  & other Trust council members will maintain the office until March 2006 when the post will be advertised again. I think all member organisations and friends of the Trust will miss Barbara’s presence & valuable input during the setting up and FCO funded life of the Trust. Securing ongoing funding support from SHG is vital and we have yet to resolve the key difficulty which faces the Trust when seeking overseas funding – attempts meet a brick wall as potential donor organisations simply say that as a UK Overseas Territory, Britain should be looking after us! However, we have recently sent off a letter to the Big Lottery Fund Chairman asking that the criteria for OTs to access funding be reviewed and reflect the special association we have with Britain.

Following the Trust Council’s meeting this month, representatives met with a DFID funded team from Harvard & Berkeley Universities, in the USA, who are working with the Legal and Lands Department to land use map and computerise land registry. They are developing important baseline data to inform planning and development decision making. The island can be reassured that the work they are undertaking is most timely and welcome as it will address important elements of the Environmental Charter* strategies identified during the Environmental Workshops with Dr Mike Pienkowski and endorsed by Executive Council. It therefore seems rather odd that the initiative to bring the team here came from the team leader Dave Seagal, and no-one within SHG seemed to connect what he was proposing to the Environmental Strategy evolved during Mike’s visit!  

During the next few months – indeed over the next few years, the Trust and its member organisations need to be actively engaged in the island’s change process. In spite of the lack of direct representation on the Development Board, lobbying to protect the heritage we enjoy and which brings visitors to study or simply enjoy is going to be vital to the development of a sustainable economic structure for the island. We look forward to the challenges and recognise the importance of support from overseas members and organisations with similar aims as we cannot afford to make the same mistakes as other island communities have made which have resulted in irreparable damage to the natural environment or detrimental changes to their culture. We don’t have to look beyond the Caribbean to see the damage to mangrove swamps and coastline spoilt by hotel developments running down to the sea. Although neither of these is likely given our particular environment and high cliffs, we would be less than good guardians of St Helena for our children and grand children if we didn’t approach air access and the hoped for tourism developments with great caution and a lot of commonsense!

Cathy Hopkins

 ( Ag Director)

*Environment Charter – a copy of the St Helena Environment Charter and supporting Strategy Document can be found at www.ukotcf.org

PROJECTS

The MUSEUM – with the help of the Prisoners our disabled people will at last be able to access the Museum more easily via a Wheelchair ramp to the Shop entrance. All the materials were kindly donated for this project and the work carried out by the Prisoners. [see picture kindly contributed by Ag Chief of Police. Merlin George] . Also ready for use is a wheelchair lift. This enables access to the upstairs of the Museum and was officially “commissioned” on 7 October. At the same time a presentation of Ships’ Models by the RMS St Helena was made - thanks to the effective lobby by Captain Rodney Young to persuade St Helena Line to agree that the models would now be best placed in the museum. The Museum has been given a subsidy by SHG to enable it to meet its running costs for 2005/6 but any development of the exhibitions will rely on other funding. The Friends of St Helena have kindly donated £2000 which has been earmarked for electric humidity control units to install in the display cabinets as an important step to maintain temperature and humidity for exhibits. A small freezer has been purchased to de-infest small items before they are taken into the main body of the Museum for display. This precaution is important if we are to protect our existing exhibits from unwanted “visitors”! The Heritage Society also hopes to fund a security system as this will provide added security and encourage people to donate items more readily.

SCHOOL PACKS

The presentation of the final Middle Schools packs prepared by Mrs Barbara George will take place later this month. These packs will provide a valuable resource of local heritage to teachers and pupils alike and the SHNT is most grateful to Barbara for completing the long and at times frustrating task of researching and then collating the material for them.

Update OTEP Protected Area Planning for the Central Peaks

by Rebecca Cairns-Wicks

The Peaks Project team were joined by Alan Mills, (pictured left planting a gumwood at the Millennium Forest) in September. The purpose of Alan’s visit was to provide support, using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to advise on the establishment of a digitized map and database programme to enable Peaks survey and monitoring programmes to be held in a form that can be routinely analysed to provide information to assess the effectiveness of management intervention and changing vegetation structure of the Peaks, and thereby inform management decisions.

Alan’s 22 day visit was agreed by DFID because savings had been made within the OTEP Peaks project. Alan, who is a Geographer based in the UK with significant experience of implementing environmental information systems in small island states, including British Virgin Islands, Anguilla and Ascension, generously agreed not to charge a consultancy fee for this visit providing travel, accommodation and subsistence costs could be met.

Alan has been kept very busy collating existing mapping data, including contour maps and satellite imagery and developing a database that will enable us to ask specific questions of our survey and monitoring data, such as what management interventions have taken place over a specified time in specified areas of the Peaks? How many cabbage trees are there? How many cabbage trees have been planted over a period of time across areas of the Peaks? What is the proportion of the different vegetation types (tree fern thicket, invasive species, flax) across specified areas of the Peaks and how has the vegetation types changed over a period of time? 

Alan has also carried out an introductory training programme for 12 members of staff at the Agriculture & Natural Resources Department in ArcView, the GIS programme, so that we can use and develop the Peaks mapping and database programme and other future potential users of the system can see how GIS can be used to manage data, inform and improve management of other sectors of ANRD.

In addition the National Trust has used the opportunity of Alan’s visit to look at wider environmental management in St Helena using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to help assess, monitor and manage its resources in a sustainable way.  GIS is a method for solving spatial problems, by using computer software to capture, store, query, analyse and output geographical information.  This information can be formed from maps, satellite or aerial imagery, survey, database or Global Positioning Systems (GPS) data and can integrate video and photographs too.  Since almost everything has a location, we can apply GIS to a wide range of applications, including the park’s globally important vegetation, fisheries, turtles and birds management, waste management, forestry, agriculture, utilities management, road maintenance, and tourism.  It can inform key government processes, committees and decision makers, such as environmental impact assessment, development control, strategic planning, disaster planning and mitigation, or marine jurisdiction.  It helps answers questions such as What is where?  Where is what? What is within a distance of..? What area..?  How long…? Where would be the best site for…? What would happen if..? and Where does conflict exist…?

Rebecca Cairns-Wicks and Alan Mills have been meeting many potential stakeholders in environmental management both in and outside of government to ascertain the priorities for such an environmental information system. The plan is to produce an application for OTEP funding at the end of 2005, with the hope that a successful bid will see a one-year project start by April 2006. For this wider project Alan would work with his colleague Dr Edsel Daniel from USA, who has guided end users of GIS from design phase to implementation and beyond, including for the Anguilla and Ascension OTEP projects.  He is a specialist in beach erosion monitoring, has significant planning and disaster management experience and would bring vital GIS and computing skills.

Contributions from member organisations.

Arts and Crafts Association

contributed by Dulcie Robertson, pictures courtesy of Serena Thorpe.

I believe it was December 2002 when I last submitted a short report to the National Trust Newsletter

Since that time the Arts and Crafts Association has improved in all aspects. The number of contributors has risen to sixty plus.  Sadly however, we have lost one lady who brought in aloe work and a gentleman who made St. Helena lanterns but we have gained more wood workers and lace workers. Ceramics sell well as do seed work, small furniture, wooden ornaments, wooden boxes, various containers, shopping bags,  island made cards, lace, embroidery,  pressed flowers, books by island authors, needle work, crochet work, paintings etc, etc, There is a small display of island crafts on the R.M.S. St. Helena and we have now established a scheme whereby our Arts and Craft products are sold in the ship’s shop. The Studio 3 Television Team that visited St. Helena last year made a very attractive and informative film of the Arts and Crafts Centre which was shown in South African and here on the island.

We still hope to improve the facilities in the centre, e.g, better lighting, additional shelving and a telephone being our immediate priorities. The hard work and dedication shown by our voluntary work team continues to ensure that the Arts and Crafts Centre is seen as the place to purchase artwork of a high standard. 

Islanders and overseas visitors are very appreciative of the fact that there is a Centre where Island craft can be purchased .  In addition, our contributors know that their work will be promoted and sold .  I am delighted to be involved in such a worthwhile enterprise.

* Editor’s comment- In discussions with SHDA Managing Director counterpart, Tony Green, I was pleased to learn that the  SHDA is actively pursuing an initiative to assist the development of local art & crafts. We should have more information on this in about a month’s time. 

The St Helena Dive Club

contributed by Emma Bennett

The St Helena Dive Club (SHDC) held their Annual General Meeting in August. The new committee consists of:

Chairman                                               Larry Thomas

Vice-Chairman                                       Craig Yon

Secretary                                              Helena Bennett

Treasurer                                              Richard Stevens

Diving Officer                                       Graham Sim

Equipments Officer                               Martin Buckley

Assistant Equipments Officer                 Raymond Young 

The SHDC is a thriving NGO and we hope that this year, the number of members will be the same or better than previous years, as scuba diving is a popular sport on the island. There are regular Saturday morning dives organised by Graham Sim with many members attending on a regular basis.  Activities planned for the year include the annual sponsored swim and a day out at Lemon Valley, an update will be given when these events take place.

A nature trial project, funded by the Overseas Territories Environment Programme (OTEP) is in progress at the moment. This is handled by the Tourist Office, but incorporates the SHDC, the SNCG and ANRD. The SHDC side of things consists of assisting the ANRD to identify and set up 3 underwater nature trails. One will be placed at the Front Steps, James Bay; one at Lemon Valley; one at Long Ledge. Dives still need to be conducted at these sites to identify interesting parts that will make up a trail and then information will be collated to form an underwater ID guide. This is an exciting project, updates will be given on the progress of this project.

If you are interested in joining the club, or want to find out more about us, then do not hesitate to contact us on email: SHDC@helanta.sh.

Farmers’ Association

contributed by Tony Leo

I can tell you that the Farmers’ Association is very active and the committee continues to meet each month to discuss matters that are of concern to farmers. The association has signed up to working very closely with the Agricultural and Natural Recourses Department in their policymaking, so that we reach a common goal that will satisfy the Department as well as the Farmer. We are keen to have the concerns of the farming community heard. The Chairman of the A&NRC is always present at committee meetings and takes the message back to the A&NRC as necessary.

The Bee Keepers’ Association and the St. Helena Coffee Association are subsidiaries of the Farmers’ Association. These subsidiaries are not as active as they should be and there have been teething problems since their inception. It is sad because it was thought that honey and coffee are two commodities that were exportable. As a founder member of the Bee Keepers’ Association I can tell you that we have had problems  - one after another, and to date after fighting for a suitable building to process honey we are right back to where we began almost eight years ago, we have nothing to show for it!

It is feared that the Bee Keepers Association will be concluding their activities very soon due to the lack of interest. Bee Keepers are continuing as they were before the Association commenced- they harvest their honey and process it when available.  I could go on for ages and tell you why I think you cannot purchase honey but I will leave it there on a “sweet” note.

[ Editor’s comment- what a sad reflection on the two naturally produced foods which have real export value and yet are not developing as they might. As for the local market for honey – not such a sweet note. Tell me where I can buy some! ]