St. Vincent Botanic Garden
The St Vincent and the Grenadines Botanic Gardens is located in Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It is one of the oldest in the Western Hemisphere (preceded by Kew Gardens in London and Bartram's Garden in Philadelphia) and perhaps the oldest in the tropical world. Conservation of rare species of plants has been practiced here since 1765. The Nicholas Wildlife Aviary complex located within the Gardens also maintains a captive breeding program to conserve the vulnerable Saint Vincent amazon.
The magnificent Botanic Gardens offer an attractive, alluring and peaceful retreat and are currently one of the most visited sites in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It is a venue for weddings, photographing, family celebrations, studying and other special events, hence fostering a sense of public ownership and increased appreciation of the Gardens’ historic and cultural significance. An historic landmark of major national, regional and global significance, the Botanic Gardens occupies approximately 20 acres (81,000 m2) about one mile (1.6 km) out of capital, Kingstown along the Leeward Highway.
The Nicholas Wildlife Aviary Complex, located within the Gardens, maintains a captive breeding program to conserve the vulnerable St Vincent Parrot, “Amazona guildingii”, the National Bird. These endemic parrots can be found in the wild and also in the Aviary.
Following the Peace of Paris in (1763) the newly appointed governor of the southern British Caribbean islands, Robert Melville, and the military surgeon in St. Vincent, George Young, decided to create a botanic garden, primarily to provide medicinal plants for the military and improve the life and economy of the colony. In the early 18th century great emphasis had been laid on introducing valuable and commercial plants from the East Indies to Kew Gardens in England to be sent later to the American tropics. The Royal Society fostered the introduction, establishment, and dissemination of highly prized species.
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