Georgetown, GINA, March 16 --- The Botanical Gardens is being rehabilitated. This is being done as part of the effort to transform Guyana for its 50th Jubilee celebrations, Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman told the Government Information Agency (GINA).
“There is work being done to improve the drainage, as one of the issues that the Botanical Gardens face is flooding, because as the city floods, here floods too. We’re creating new drains, and opening some covers that we found that were buried for many years. We’re opening those up and we’ve been clearing away a lot of the bush that has been allowed to grow up,” Trotman explained.
The Botanical Gardens which covers 185 acres has been declared a bird sanctuary. The area contains over 189 species of birds.
According to Trotman, measures are in place to ensure that the sanctuary is not disrupted during the rehabilitation process. “So even as we clear we want to ensure that the birds are not unduly displaced. So we’re not going to, you know, tear down everything but certainly the place has to be cleared up and cleaned up,” the MinisterL said.
The sum of $20M has been donated by ExxonMobil to the National Protected Areas Commission, towards the rehabilitation programme. This will include the enlargement of the Victoria Lily Pond, a waterfall feature at the entrance of the Botanical Gardens and the installation of outdoor lights, leading to the parking lot.
Photo: An excavator doing drainage works in the Botanical Gardens
