Students add colour to nature trail
Geddes Hislop receives one of the new signs, painted on bamboo, from a Prospect Primary School student
(CNS): Students from John A Cumber and Prospect Primary schools have created brightly coloured signs for all the different kinds of indigenous plants that can be seen at the Blue Hole Nature Trail at the Cayman Turtle Farm (CTF). Geddes Hislop, curator of the CTF terrestrial exhibits, spearheaded the project. “The Blue Hole Nature Trail is part of the terrestrial exhibits at Cayman Turtle Farm: Island Wildlife Encounter, where many daily visitors take a five- to 10-minute stroll through a small Cayman woodlot, viewing birds, butterflies, orchids and other native plants,” Hislop said.
“On some of the trees along the trail are hand-painted informative signs that a volunteer had done on pieces of driftwood some years ago. When the terrestrial exhibits department wanted to update the nature trail signs, it was decided that rather than ordering signs printed on plastic or metal, they preferred to use natural materials that better ‘fit’ the ambiance of the trail.
“Bamboo was the material of choice because of its durability and there is an abundance of bamboo driftwood available on some of the beaches on the south and north coasts,” he explained.
Last year, the terrestrial staff approached John A. Cumber Primary, and offered the sign-painting proposal as an International Baccalaureate art project. CTF provided the bamboo, paint and text for the signs.
“The project turned out very well with the students doing research on bamboo, preparing, and hand-painting the signs on the bamboo strips,” Hislop said, adding that about five weeks later, 14 new colourful signs were installed on the trail.
“In 2016, part two of the project was to complete a set of 13 additional signs,” Hislop said, with the project offered to Prospect Primary School’s Crafty Club. The signs were completed in late May of this year, and Hislop invited the students to visit the park for free to see their artwork on display at a natural outdoor gallery.
Category: Arts & Crafts, Environment
