April 28, 2003 — Nominations throughout the Caribbean are being accepted until July 1 for the Euan P. McFarlane Environmental Leadership Award for Outstanding Environmental Leadership in the Insular Caribbean.
Endowment funding for the award was provided by Laurence S. Rockefeller, and the program is administered by the nonprofit Island Resources Foundation (IRF), which has had a St. Thomas base since its inception in 1972.
Nominees will have to meet a considerable body of criteria in order to be eligible for the award, which was established "to provide recognition for persons demonstrating initiative, resourcefulness and leadership in promoting conservation and enhancement of the environment in the insular Caribbean, with priority given to the smaller islands of the eastern Caribbean," said an IRF release.
Nominees for the McFarlane Award should be persons who have applied themselves to the preservation of the natural or built environment and whose career or avocation demonstrates an appreciation of and adherence to the advancement of environmental stewardship and balanced development in the Caribbean.
Any resident of a Caribbean island is eligible for nomination, although priority consideration will be given to residents of the smaller eastern Caribbean islands. Nominations may be made by an interested individual or organization familiar with the nominee. Self-nominations will not be accepted.
Nominations must be postmarked by, e-mailed or faxed by July 1, 2003. Details about what materials and information should be included with a nomination, award criteria, and submission addresses can be found in the award announcement on the IRF Web site.
Winners are announced, and presented with an unrestricted $1,000 cash grant, each year at the annual general meeting of the Caribbean Conservation Association and simultaneously in Islands magazine. The 2002 CCA meeting was held in November in Port of Spain.
A list of previous award winners is at the end of this article.
Euan McFarlane: "He did good works quietly."
And who was Euan McFarlane, that an environmental award has been named for him? For many years a resident of St. Croix, McFarlane will be recalled as someone who had a finger in many a pie, and was involved in virtually all activity related to environmental conservation, on St. Croix and throughout the Caribbean, from the 1950s through the 1970s.
Euan McFarlane moved to St. Croix with wife Betty, and children Peter and Ann in December 1948, where he built two houses overlooking Christiansted near the old ruin known as Bulowminde, son Peter McFarlane reported in an e-mail communication. The project took longer than expected and in the end, Euan, always known as "Mac," and Betty McFarlane stayed in the U.S. Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands nearly 30 years.
Early projects undertaken by Euan McFarlane included the Alexander Theater, an early St. Croix airport terminal structure, the parsonage for St. Paul's Anglican Church in Frederiksted, and the miniature sugar mill at the water's edge near Club Comanche.
At some point he linked up with Rockefeller and became, first, supervisor of construction of Caneel Bay Resort and Little Dix Bay resort; and eventually, Rockefeller's "environmental advisor for the entire Caribbean region," a quote by Charles Neilson of St. Croix in McFarlane's obituary in the St. Croix Avis.
After completion of Caneel and Little Dix Bay, recalls Dr. Edward Towle, founder and longtime president of IRF, Rockefeller began to look for projects that would benefit V.I. residents, not just visitors. Bringing a consultant from the National Park in 1960 to inventory sites, he determined that he wished to work toward a territorial park system that would be for the residents. McFarlane became his agent in these matters.
Rockefeller was interested in the environment throughout the Caribbean, and McFarlane was responsible for seeking out land and arranging purchases, looking for interesting projects.
Rockefeller had restored the Morgan Lewis windmill in Barbados from total ruins, said Towle, and he saw the possibilities of doing this with the Whim Estate on St. Croix. McFarlane, a Scotsman, went to Scotland where resided the mill manufacturers who needed to be persuaded to assist with restoration by providing replacements for worn-out and rusted machinery parts.
The Whim project was a nice combination of "critical mass," said Towle, as a demonstration project to set the standard: it involved land conservation, architectural restoration, conservation of historical resources, a library and a museum.
"Mac" McFarlane is remembered by Ed Towle as a founding member of the V.I. Conservation Society and was key to establishing the Caribbean Conservation Association. "He always stayed in the background," said IRF's Judith Towle. "He did good works quietly."
Ed Towle regards him as his mentor. "When I moved here to work at CVI's Caribbean Research Institute," — the university's forerunner of the Eastern Caribbean Center — "I was very green," Towle said, referring not to his environmental bent but to his knowledge of the area. He first faced queries from Antioch Press: where was the promised proceedings of the Caribbean Conservation Conference, an undertaking in 1965 by Rockefeller which brought together not only all the Caribbean conservationists from Puerto Rico to Trinidad, but also serious political figures? As he pulled those verbatim materials together for publication, he realized that here was his own master plan for his time in the Caribbean.
Coming to know McFarlane through this effort, Towle suggested that a more systematic and formal re-survey of the Caribbean be made, repeating Rockefeller's earlier cruises aboard his yacht in search of knowledge of the Caribbean. Rockefeller agreed to fund such a trip, so Towle recruited, by telephone call to a man he'd never met, Sir Philip Sherlock, at the time vice chancellor of the University of the West Indies, and McFarlane, Towle and Sherlock made a month-long survey cruise.
At home in St. Croix, McFarlane supervised construction of the Fountain Valley Golf Course, became active in the St. Croix Landmarks Society, was on the building committee for Island Center, and was instrumental in the founding of Good Hope School. He, unlike many founders and builders, remained involved in the institutions he had built: for a time he was manager at Fountain; he was a board member, president and vice president of the Landmarks Society; and was a trustee of the Good Hope School board for many years.
Ed Towle remembers another project: Little Sandy Cay. Rockefeller bought the cay and brought in a horticulturist to plant trees. On an island that only had "four scrub trees," said Towle, suddenly appeared "180 palm trees." McFarlane was responsible for barging in water, first in barrels, then to feed an irrigation system that covered the island. He also had involvement with Little St. Thomas, Little Princesse, and the Salt River area in the U.S. Virgin Islands; and with the procurement of Sage Mountain, Virgin Gorda Peak and New Jerusalem acreage in the British Virgin Islands.
McFarlane died in 1983 while vacationing in the Highlands of Scotland. Rockefeller established the award in 1987.
"I feel very honored that Mr. Laurance Rockefeller saw fit to honor Dad by endowing the award," said Peter McFarlane. Award recipients "have truly represented the ideas and ideals that were so important to Dad."
As an aside, he notes that he has fond memories of St. Croix: "The late 1940s and early '50s were quiet, peaceful, and a wonderful place for me to spend my more formative years between the ages of 10 and 13 and summers thereafter."
Previous McFarlane Award recipients
1988, Yves Renard, St. Lucia
1989, Mervin Williams, St. Lucia
1990, Ronald Charles, Dominica
1990, Arlington James, Dominica
1991, Alissandra Cummins, Barbados
1992-93, Kevel Lindsay, Antigua and Barbuda
1994-95, Jalaludin Ahmad Khan, Trinidad and Tobago
1996-97, Reginald Murphy, Antigua and Barbuda
1996-97, Maurice Widdowson, St. Kitts
1998, Andrew Simpson, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
1999, Ian Lambie, Trinidad and Tobago
2000, David Robinson, Nevis
2001, Charles Chavoudiga, Guadeloupe
2002, Jacqueline and Larry Armony, St. Kitts

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Childcare providers, parents and families are urged to attend the St. Thomas Childhood Development Fund Town Meeting Thursday, June 26, to offer suggestions and ideas to the V.I. Human Services Department.
The meeting will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Knud Hansen Complex, St. Thomas.
Territory-wide plans affecting V.I. children from Oct. 1, 2003, to September 30, 2005, will be discussed.
For further information contact Brenda Jenkins at 774-0930 ext. 4181.

June 25, 2003 — Marshall A. Bell Jr. received a master's of architecture degree from Yale University School of Architecture at this year's May graduation ceremonies.
In addition to this second professional degree, Bell received the H.I. Feldman Prize, which is awarded by Yale annually since 1955 "for the best solution to an architectural problem, taking into consideration the practical, functional and aesthetic requirements of that problem," according to the Yale University catalog.
A news release from the university said that the work of graduate and undergraduate students at the Yale School of Architecture will exhibit on campus May 23 to August 1 in "Future Now." Exhibitors will include nominees for the Feldman Prize.
Bell, a 1987 graduate of All Saints Cathedral School, is the son of Marshall and Nancy Bell of St. Thomas.
He previously received degrees from Woodbury University Los Angeles and the Southern California Institute of Architecture. After completing a teaching fellowship at the Yale graduate school, Bell plans to return to California to continue his career.

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June 25, 2003 — Childcare providers, parents and families are urged to attend the St. Thomas Childhood Development Fund Town Meeting Thursday, June 26, to offer suggestions and ideas to the V.I. Human Services Department.
The meeting will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Knud Hansen Complex, St. Thomas. St. Croix's meeting was held Wednesday.
Territory-wide plans affecting V.I. children from Oct. 1, 2003, to September 30, 2005, will be discussed.
"All are invited," said Velven Samuel, director of the Office of Childcare, Regulatory and Volunteer Services, "but it is especially essential for parents and childcare providers who have or care for children between the ages of 7 and 13 to attend."
For further information contact Brenda Jenkins at 774-0930 ext. 4181.
"Children are the future, they're everybody's business," Samuel said further.

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June 25, 2003 – The annual meeting of the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce will be held at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, June 27, at the Windward Passage Hotel meeting room.
Guest speaker Carlos V. Ubinas, Executive Vice President and CEO of UBS Financial Services, will make remarks focusing on how Puerto Rico developed its own fixed income capital market through tax initiatives and how this has been a tremendous tool for economic development and capital formation.
Chamber President Cassan A. Pancham will present the Chamber's Annual Report.
Also, the results of the balloting for president, president-elect and the directors will be announced.
To make a reservation for breakfast, $20 per person, call the chamber at 776-0100.

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June 25, 2003 – The annual meeting of the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce will be held at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, June 27, at the Windward Passage Hotel meeting room.
Guest speaker Carlos V. Ubinas, Executive Vice President and CEO of UBS Financial Services, will make remarks focusing on how Puerto Rico developed its own fixed income capital market through tax initiatives and how this has been a tremendous tool for economic development and capital formation.
Chamber President Cassan A. Pancham will present the Chamber's Annual Report.
Also, the results of the balloting for president, president-elect and the directors will be announced.
To make a reservation for breakfast, $20 per person, call the chamber at 776-0100.

It's late at night. The empty, darkened parking lot stretches away from you in eerie silence. You can see your car 100 yards away in a flickering pool of light cast by a malfunctioning lamp post. You are a woman, and you are alone.
If you're not prepared for the unthinkable – someone is lurking out there in the shadows looking for his next victim – then Arthur Dennery and the Virgin Islands Police Department may have just what you need.
Dennery, a 44 year veteran of at least five different martial arts disciplines, and developer of his own form, Art-Den-Jitsu, has created a three-hour program designed specifically for women which he calls Instinctive Self Defense.
"With the rise in crime, in physical and sexual assault, this course is my way of helping out the ladies and giving back to the community," Dennery stated.
The course begins at 3 p.m. on Saturday, July 19, at the law offices of Eszart Wynter, 27 Estate Whim in Fredriksted.
The VIPD will have two officers on hand to provide information and field questions, and while the program will not provide training in any of the martial arts, there will be lots of practical guidelines and useful tips.
In addition to parking lot safety, the course will offer information on highway safety and awareness, how to change your car tire, car entry safety and awareness and much more.
"I have done this courses all over the Caribbean and the United States," Dennery said, "It's about practical things any woman can do to help assure her own safety."
Dennery has four Art-Den-Jitsu training centers, two on St. Croix, one each in New York City and Florida and is thinking of setting up a second Florida location.
For further information contact Dennery at 772-2042.

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It's late at night. The empty, darkened parking lot stretches away from you in eerie silence. You can see your car 100 yards away in a flickering pool of light cast by a malfunctioning lamp post. You are a woman, and you are alone.
If you're not prepared for the unthinkable – someone is lurking out there in the shadows looking for his next victim – then Arthur Dennery and the VIPD may have just what you need.
Dennery, a 44 year veteran of at least five different martial arts disciplines, and developer of his own form, Art-Den-Jitsu, has created a three-hour program designed specifically for women which he calls Instinctive Self Defense.
"With the rise in crime, in physical and sexual assault, this course is my way of helping out the ladies and giving back to the community," Dennery stated.
The course begins at 3 p.m. on Saturday, July 19, at the law offices of Eszart Wynter, 27 Estate Whim in Fredriksted.
The VIPD will have two officers on hand to provide information and field questions, and while the program will not provide training in any of the martial arts, there will be lots of practical guidelines and useful tips.
In addition to parking lot safety, the course will offer information on highway safety and awareness, how to change your car tire, car entry safety and awareness and much more.
"I have done this courses all over the Caribbean and the United States," Dennery said, "It's about practical things any woman can do to help assure her own safety."
Dennery has four Art-Den-Jitsu training centers, two on St. Croix, one each in New York City and Florida and is thinking of setting up a second Florida location.
For further information contact Dennery at 772-2042.

June 25, 2003 – Several of the territory's top track and field athletes will be representing the V.I. at meets throughout the Caribbean this summer, including two important Pan-American Games qualifying events, according to a release.
The Virgin Islands Track and Field Federation has assembled a team of outstanding athletes who will be traveling in early July to the Central American and Caribbean Track and Field Championships in Grenada. At the end of July the group will head to Puerto Rico for the Frankie Colon Memorial meet.
The federation and the V.I. Olympic Committee, who will provide all the funding for V.I. athletes at these competitions, view these two meets as final qualifiers for the Pan-Am Games and as preparation for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.
V.I. athletes will also compete this summer in the Junior Pan-American Games in Barbados, the Central American and Caribbean Youth Championships and the World Masters Championships, both in Puerto Rico, and the World Championships in Paris, France.
Track and field athletes representing the V.I. are: Laverne Jones, a four-time all-American sprinter at Oklahoma University, formerly a runner for the St. Croix Education Complex team; Adrian Durant, a silver medalist in this year's CARIFTA Championships and an outstanding freshman at the University of South Carolina, and Kenneth Telemaque, captain of his South Carolina State University team and winner of the conference 400 meter event.
Jones and Durant both competed in this year's NCAA Championships, held earlier in the month in Sacramento, Ca.
Also on the team are: Kady Joseph, a Charolotte Amalie High School graduate who sprinted to a third place finish in the 400 at the MEAC Championships representing Morgan State University; all-American long-jumper Vaughn Walwyn; long distance runner Lisah Hamilton; middle distance runner Billy Bohlke; two-time V.I. Olympians and CAHS graduates Ameerah Bello and Valma Bass; Rodney Pitts, of Abilene Christian College; Shanna Williams, of Florida Atlantic University; Julio Felix, and Sherma Aurelein.

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June 25, 2003 – Several of the territory's top track and field athletes will be representing the V.I. at meets throughout the Caribbean this summer, including two important Pan-American Games qualifying events, according to a release.
The Virgin Islands Track and Field Federation has assembled a team of outstanding athletes who will be traveling in early July to the Central American and Caribbean Track and Field Championships in Grenada. At the end of July the group will head to Puerto Rico for the Frankie Colon Memorial meet.
The federation and the V.I. Olympic Committee, who will provide all the funding for V.I. athletes at these competitions, view these two meets as final qualifiers for the Pan-Am Games and as preparation for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.
V.I. athletes will also compete this summer in the Junior Pan-American Games in Barbados, the Central American and Caribbean Youth Championships and the World Masters Championships, both in Puerto Rico, and the World Championships in Paris, France.
Track and field athletes representing the V.I. are: Laverne Jones, a four-time all-American sprinter at Oklahoma University, formerly a runner for the St. Croix Education Complex team; Adrian Durant, a silver medalist in this year's CARIFTA Championships and an outstanding freshman at the University of South Carolina, and Kenneth Telemaque, captain of his South Carolina State University team and winner of the conference 400 meter event.
Jones and Durant both competed in this year's NCAA Championships, held earlier in the month in Sacramento, Ca.
Also on the team are: Kady Joseph, a Charolotte Amalie High School graduate who sprinted to a third place finish in the 400 at the MEAC Championships representing Morgan State University; all-American long-jumper Vaughn Walwyn; long distance runner Lisah Hamilton; middle distance runner Billy Bohlke; two-time V.I. Olympians and CAHS graduates Ameerah Bello and Valma Bass; Rodney Pitts, of Abilene Christian College; Shanna Williams, of Florida Atlantic University; Julio Felix, and Sherma Aurelein.

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