Understanding the biodiversity in green spaces is important for building eco-tourism products and knowing how those spaces can be developed with minimal negative impacts.
This is the case for the Mid-East Adventure Park in Richmond, which is gradually establishing itself as a top eco-tourism product in Tobago.
The park is alive with birdlife, with species constantly moving through its trees and green spaces. Yet, despite their presence, there is limited knowledge of the variety of birds that inhabit the area.
To assist, THA Secretary of Environment, Climate Resilience and Energy Darren Henry traded his business attire for hiking clothes and boots, utilising his vast knowledge to assist with an ecological survey of the area.
“I would have spent 27 years in the field of forestry doing this type of thing. I love being outdoors, and I am willing to assist any organisation, whether it is government, private sector, NGOs, in terms of this type of activity.”
Almost immediately, Mr Henry’s experience kicked in, and he identified some common species such as the cocrico, motmot, and bananaquit.
“We also saw a migratory species from Venezuela, we call it the fork-tailed flycatcher, they migrate to and from Central and South America, mainly Venezuela.”
Some species of hummingbirds were also identified.
“We actually saw two hummingbirds, the copper-rumped and the rufus-breasted hermit; they are really nectivores, but they sometimes adapt and catch mosquitoes and those things, small flies, to augment their dietary needs.”
Mr Henry said the birds are bountiful because of the existence of fruit trees and theorised that the area may have been part of a lowland rainforest.
In Tobago, there are three types of forest ecosystems: lower montane, lowland and xerophytic forests. Lowland forests are found in low-lying areas and valleys, with lush, abundant plant growth.
“At the lowland rainforest, it is dominated by angeline and crappo, and this area is dominated by angeline, which kind of has me thinking that this area was part of that kind of ecosystem.”
One of the founding directors of the Mid-East Adventure Park, Ostra Trotman, is pleased that there is now more information to share with visitors.
“We know there are a lot of birds, just that we couldn’t identify them, but when we heard the number, I was like, ‘Right, so now we can lead birdwatching tours’, so we would want to know a lot more about the birds that exist in the space so that we could share it with all of Tobago and all of the visitors of Tobago. This is an absolute delight because we have been wanting to have this for a very long time and not knowing how to go about it, go about getting it done.”
The Mid-East Adventure Park has a public-private partnership with the Tobago Reforestation and Watershed Rehabilitation Programme. It is one of the sites being developed to increase eco-tourism opportunities on the island.