We are nurtured by nature
The Department of Environment writes: As the tops of a deep-sea, underwater mountain range, the Cayman Islands evolved in isolation for millions of years. As animals and plants found their way across the sea to our shores, they brought new life to the land, which over time developed many unique and biodiverse ecosystems. As humans eventually passed through and began to settle our three small islands, learning how to live in, and with, the resources provided by this wild landscape became not only a means of survival but the Caymanian way of life.
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Accessing biodiversity
Today, like many islands in the region facing increasing populations, Cayman’s delicate ecosystems are vulnerable to habitat and biodiversity loss as land use expands into these previously untouched wild spaces.
To help advise government agencies and society in general on which species and habitats are most threatened and the conservation measures needed to ensure they thrive, the government employs a diverse range of biologists and researchers, while sustainability specialists help inform how human activities can be modified to reduce adverse and often irreversible impacts.
As our islands urbanise, legally designated Terrestrial Protected Areas (TPAs) play a critical role in safeguarding our islands’ fragile ecosystems. But it’s the access they provide us to these wild spaces which offers an intrinsic value to human health and well-being that is as dynamic as it is far-reaching.
Nurtured by nature
Beyond the ecological benefits, access to expanses of nature provides people with invaluable opportunities for improved overall health and mental well-being. Studies have shown that spending just a few minutes a day in green spaces improves physical health, reduces stress, and enhances cognitive function. In fact, the two major theories in this area of study are rooted in the concept that human health evolved to have an affinity for nature.
Attention Restoration Theory posits that the mental fatigue of modern life is associated with a depleted capacity to direct attention and that spending time in natural environments enables people to restore this capacity. Another perspective, Stress Reduction Theory, explores how spending time in nature activates the parasympathetic nervous system to reduce stress because of people’s intrinsic connection to the natural world. A simple web search reveals an extensive amount of scientific support that humans are indeed nurtured by nature.
Wild Cayman
Wild spaces such as the Mastic Trail and Colliers Wilderness Reserve in Grand Cayman, the Parrot Sanctuary in Cayman Brac and Booby Pond Nature Reserve in Little Cayman are all protected and managed by the National Trust for the Cayman Islands. They allow both residents and visitors to disconnect from the bustle of modern life and become immersed in the sights and sounds of what our incredible Cayman Islands were like for the millions of years before human settlement.
Hemmington Forest on Cayman Brac is a Crown-owned protected area under the National Conservation Act, which will soon have a management plan for public access. Sustainably designed and constructed walking trails and education stations will offer easy access to interior portions of the Bluff top forest. This will enable elders, children and even wheelchairs to visit this pristine environment and enjoy its wildlife and natural beauty.
Verdant Sanctuary
In many ways, protected areas are how we can preserve Cayman’s natural heritage, giving access to the abundance of natural life they harbour. By protecting threatened and endangered species, preserving fragile ecosystems, and promoting human health and well-being, these areas serve as vital components of a sustainable future. If we can strengthen conservation efforts and expand protected lands and seas, we will help ensure that the Cayman Islands remain a verdant sanctuary where generations to come may continue to be nurtured by Cayman’s deepest nature.
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Category: Land Habitat, Science & Nature, Viewpoint
God created evolution. Amen!
Protecting the Cayman environment should include enforcement of the law. However, the DOE enforcement department isn’t fit for purpose and is managerially dysfunctional at best with very little competence demonstrated by its ‘leaders’. Hardly surprising really when you look at the resumes of those purportedly in charge.
When their ‘officers’ spend more time tending to their own business interests or family commitments than the vital preservation of our unique islands, then what should we expect?
I understand the enforcement budget is counted in cents, hence the failure to provide the equipment needed to maintain protection, such as task specific boats.
Nobody would dispute these unique islands need protection, but that requires an urgent review of manpower, discipline, equipment, and purpose.
Yes, mostly agree.
BUT, ideally your so-called green space needs to be right where people are living. You can’t expect young children, the sick and the elderly to traipse to the Mastic Trail or dash off to Little.
Nor can you plant imported nursery species and expect them to feel the same.
There’s no quick fix to this, although planting another 10,000 trees would be a start
LPP (Land for Public Purposes), that land set aside for what you described aside was supposed to address this decades ago. However, there are very few instances where it has been converted to green space/play areas for kids. Greed and apathy overrides the right thing to do. When I was a kid most kids got in touch with nature, playing in fields and woods. Now they are mostly interested in playing in virtual environments😂. I pity them, and this is why we now have a dwindling, almost nonexistent appreciation for nature.
Stop spreading these satanic propaganda, we didn’t evolve, We and all things were created by God Almighty. The enemy of all humanity wants us to accept this and be eternally separated from God. If all things evolved then are living conditions continuing to decorate as the word of God said it would??
Huh?
Eloquent drivel, but God wouldn’t be impressed with your spelling abilities.
Blimey, 5:39! Float I into Zion, Zion come for I. Erm.
Don’t you see that both things can be true? Yes, God made us, but how did he do so? You can see in the manner in which humanity has changed just in the last 100 years, that natural selection is ongoing. Understanding evolution doesn’t separate us from God, but helps describe His miraculous works. His wonders to perform, right? His ways are mysterious and beyond our ken. God gave us all a brain to think, to learn and find humour in the world.
We can see by the fossil record, a change in creatures, some that took millions and tens of millions of years. This is God’s gentle hand, and it didn’t take place overnight. God left these records for us to learn and understand.
Well you clearly haven’t.
All good except humans as a dominant species on this planet haven’t yet evolved to live in harmony with other species. Until all humans reach this pinnacle of evolution It’s the worst of human nature vs the rest of nature. In the long run nature will win but by then most likely the ones with more appreciation for concrete and tarmac will have laid waste to Cayman.