Victoria Village celebrates 175 years … and houses the national mangrove project

March 3, 2013, By KNews, Filed Under New, Source

A section of the mangroves

They have successfully planted nine kilometers of black and white mangroves along the East Coast Demerara. And, Annette Arjoon, Chairperson of the Mangrove Action Committee, took the opportunity to express her “undying appreciation for Digicel’s continued generous support “for their initiative and for aiding with the development of the economic standing of the community”.

This was highlighted on Friday on a trip along East Coast Demerara. The tour coincided with the 175th anniversary of Victoria village which is still preserved.

The tour on March 1 marked the 175th anniversary of Victoria, Guyana’s oldest community.

The tour began with an informative presentation beneath a colonial house which stands as a historical structure and houses the women’s leadership foundation.

The presentation enlightened its patrons on the importance of mangroves and the successes of the project to date.

Some of the historical buildings included The Emancipation Hut constructed in 1840 and a church first built in 1845 now reconstructed to almost identical architectural pattern.

The mangrove project serves to stem the encroaching Atlantic and provides a basin for a sustainable ecosystem that supports aquatic life.

There are seven7 types of mangroves, four of which grow naturally along the Victoria village coastline. Within proximity can be found many medicinal bushes, all of which grow untamed and according to Ms. Arjoon, are used to cure many ailments.

She further noted that the area provides much scope for bird watching. A few exotic migratory birds can be seen such as the national bird of Trinidad and Tobago, the Scarlet Ibis.

The tour concluded with the visitors being taken to a masquerade performance that awaited them at the entrance of the mangrove trail.

The band called “Fire in the Land” gave an “incredible” performance, according to one Australian visitor.