Day+19+-+St.+George+Village+Botanical+Gardens

This morning we woke up to a beautifully sunny day. At 10:30 am we left our villas to take a self-guided tour at the St. George Village Botanical Gardens. The botanical garden is basically sixteen acres of sugar plantation ruins and a lot of interesting and beautiful flora. Some of the historical sites included the Overseer’s House, the village Bake Oven, the Blacksmith shop (which is still in use), the Water Mill along with a number of Sugar and Rum Factory buildings all of which date back to the late 1700’s and early 1800’s. Some of the interesting plants included the cannonball tree from northern South America, the sausage tree from Africa and the native calabash tree. These plants brought a lot things from this trip together such as the ways in which bats help pollinate these trees as well as how slaves used the calabash to make bowls, spoons and other dishes. The rainforest was really cool and gave us all a sense of what was on St. Croix before people intervened with the natural environment. Later, when we had our team reflection meeting, it was interesting to compare this experience with the one we had at the Whim Plantation Museum. People talked about the energy and sort of cultural connection they felt at the Whim Plantation Museum just wasn't present in the botanical garden. It was discussed that it becomes difficult to get a sense of what really happened there when you combine this sort of uplifting tourism aspect to the very sad reality of what occurred on a sugar plantation run by slaves. Some of the group members disliked this aspect, while others made the point that without the botanical garden, these sites may cease to exist without the current funding that’s being put in by certain donors. These are important questions to ask if we want these things to be preserved and remain within society. However, at the same time, it’s imperative that we realize the effects of combining these two types of tourism aspects, to the meanings that people derive from their experiences.