No. I October 1989

Jamaican Geographer Newsletter of the J amaican Geographical Society

ESSAY COMPETITION

The awards ceremony for the 1989 JGS essay competition was held on Saturday 10th June at the Interfacul ­ty lecture theatre, UWI. The nation ­al essay competition was the first of its kind held by the Society and was a resounding success. There were en­tries from 104 students from schools across the island . The topic they all tackled was 'The importance of man­aging our natural resources.'

Our congratulations are especial­ly du e to the first-prize winner s: Kerry-Ann Chamberlain of Knox Co llege (Category 1) and Pijanka Roy of Campion College (Category 2) . Kerry-Ann' s essay was published in t ","0 part s in the Jam aica Re ord.

The JG S Council was able to so­licit sponsorship from a number of organizations, and the total funds raised in order to cover the prize money and the Society's costs was over $6,000. Our thanks are due to the support and generosity of these organizations in contributing to the success of the competition and to the promotion of geographical educa­tion in schools. We must single out

ICL for special thanks as they acted as the principal sponsor.

The main speaker at the function was Dr . Ray Davies, Technical Ad­visor to the Minister of Education. Another speaker was Robert Phil­lips, Marketing Manager ofI CL. Joy Douglas, outgoing president of the Society, chaired the meeting, and Dr. Wilma Bailey summarized th e judges ' comments . Several sponsors sent representatives to the meeting to assist in the prize-giving, and the media and JBC television were in at ­tendance. Eleanor Jones wrapped up the meeting with the vote of thanks.

The Council has decided to or­ganize further national essay com­petitions to encourage the develop­ment of geography in schoo ls. Competitions willbe held biennially, so we can look forward to the next one in 1991.

AGM APPROVES NEW CONSTITUTION

The 1989 AGM was held on Satur­day 10th June, following the awards presentation of the essay competi­

tion. The meeting was chaired by Vice-President Michael Tharkur.

In her presidential address, Joy Douglas reviewed the work of the Society over the past year. The acti­vities of the Societyhad been severely disrupted by Hurricane Gilbert. Nevertheless, Dr.Alan Eyre was able to lead a field excursion to Guava Ridge and Content Gap to look at hurricane damage in one of Kings­ton's watersheds. The main activity and thrus t of the Council's work for the rest of the year was the national essay competition. The outgoing president once again raised the ques­tion of clarifying and formalizing the legal status of the JGS. The alterna­tives needed to be carefully consid­ered by the Society because of the legal implications. Much depended on what the members felt ought to be the future role of the JGS.

The outgoing Council had prep­ared a draft version of a revised Con­stitution . This was considered, clause by clause, and during the dis­cussion some minor modifications were proposed. The new Constitu­tion was adopted by the AGM.

(continued on next page)

Essay Competition Prizewinners

CATEGORY 1 CATEGORY2

lst Prize: Kerry-Anne Chamberlain, Knox High Pljanka Roy, Campion College

2nd Prize: Catherine Booth, St Catherine High Nata lya Edwards, Campion College

Certificates 0/ Comm endable E//on:

Lisa Armstrong. St Andrew High June Ramdon, St Andr ew High Suzette Chin, St Andrew High Ardean Samuda, Knox College Eatel Davis, Knox College Raoul Williams, Knox College Marie Reece, Herbert Morrison Camp. Marc Sajabi, Tichfield High

Kathya Beckford, Campion College Avlnash Potluri, Campion College Simone Lopez. Campion College Pierre-Anthony Leake. Campion College Rashida Reed, Campion College Kevin Alcock, Campion College Shaul Parchment, Campion College Monique Sinclair , Immaculate Conception High

Scho ols Knox High and Cam pion College for winning entries. Campion College for most entries.

Teachers Hyacinth Baker (Knox High) and Yvonne Jones (Campion College)

Jamaican Geographer (1), October 1989 - 1

National Essay Competition

The Council had also created a new p ost: Membership Secretary. This po st was formally approved by the AGM during the nominations and election of a new C ouncil. Claudia J ames was elected as our new president.

THE ENVIRONMENT STRIKES BACK

The main guest speaker at the JGS's national essay competition awards ceremony in June wa s D r Ray Davies, T echnica l Advisor to the Minister of E ducation.

In his address, Dr Davies pointed out that the year 2000 was fast ap­p roaching, and that this had galva ­nized the whole world into a concern for the future of planet earth. He reviewed the energy crisis, touching on the oil crisis of the 1970s, non­renewable resources and energy con­servation. He characterized the man-environment theme as one in which, initially, industrial society had launched an attack on the environ­ment. The environment had taken a battering, and some of the bruises had become household names, like the Greenhouse effect, acid rain and Che rnobyl.

The 'environment' was striking back, through worldwide concern about the global environment. This fightback was taking many forms. One form was a spiritual response: oriental philosophies which empha­size the importance of man's har ­mony with the environment were be­coming more popular in the west ern world. A second form was the in­creasing influence of international o rgan iza tio ns ( ne tworks of con­cerned pe ople) and political organi ­

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zat ions (like the Greens). A final and crucial form was environmental edu­cation.

Dr Davies said tha t environmen­tal education was at the forefront of the fightback, and was one of the main fronts on which to halt the det ­erioration of our natural resources . It was being done on a formal and a non-formal level. On a formal level it was necessary for schools and col­leges to develop a general awareness of the physical world and envir on­mental principles, and to incorporate new topics in the years ahead. Non­formal approaches, like clubs and other organizations, help reinforce this learning. The JGS has been ac ­tively involved in such activities dur­ing its 32 years of existence.

He congratulated the Society, JCL, schools, students and the other sponsors on an impressive es say competition, and exhorted the aud­ience to 'think globally and act loc ­ally' and to 'think globally and act personally' .

GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Speaking at the awards presenta­t ion, Robert Phillips , Marketing Manager of ICL (the main sponsors of the competition) lauded the or­ganizers for the ir efforts to sensitize young people to the importance of environmental issues through the choice of essay theme.

Mr Phillips pointed to the impor­tance of government planning bodies having the capability to share geog­raphical information - information such as population pro files, road routes, electricity lines, sewer sys­tems, communication systems and so forth. H e suggested that the Jamai­can government should be develop­ing strategies designed to make com ­puterized information available between its many planning organiza­tions. To do this , he said, govern­ment must begin to examine its plan­ning and geographical needs.

He noted that in Europe and North America, governments were actively pushing for information technology standardization.

JUDGES' COMME NTS ON ES SAY COMPETITION

General Comments 1. TI,e presentation of essays

was often poor,' som e essays were submitted without folders. Spell­ing mistakes and bad grammar were commonplace, and essays which had been typed often had many typographical errors, sug­gesting that they had not been properly p roof read. B iblio­graphies were inconsistent in style and rarely followed conventional fo rmats.

2. Students tended to lise out­of-date material, and there wasfar too great a dependence on official handouts and public relations material. More lise might have been made of newspapers, news magazines, business and environ­mental magazines and journals such as Jamaica Journal.

3. Not enough lise was made of maps and diagrams, which are often important aspects of geog­raphical essays. Where maps and diagrams were used, few had prope r titles or indicated their source.

Frequent Misunderstandings 1. Bauxite lands are not more

f ertile after they have been re­cla imed. They are generally suitable for grass, and are most economically developed as cattle properties.

2. The manatee is not the only aquatic animal in Jamaica . TIley ar e the mo st [re quent ly en ­countered, because they live in shallow waterand are docile.

Th e j udges ' comments were circulated to all the 13schools who participated in the competition. Thanks are due for the time and effort put in by the pan el: Dr Wilma Bailey, Dr Joyce Glasgow (Faculty of Education, UWI), Eleanor Jones (Caritech), Joy Douglas (outgoing JGS Pres­ident), and Mrs Phyllis Reynolds (Sam Sharpe Teachers College).

2 - Jamaican Geographer (1), October 1989

Classroom Geography

GEOGRAPHY TE ACHE RS' ASSOCIATIO N OF JAMAICA

T he defunct Geography Teachers' Association was revived in 1988. The first meeting was held on Tuesday, June 14, 1988, in the auditori um at the Caenwood Cen tre, Arnold R oad. Teachers from 25 high schools across the island were present. This first me eting was called because of a need to get geo graphy teachers involved in draft ing a curriculum for Grades 7 to 9 (1st to 3rd form) students. The rationalization of secondary educa­tio n necessitat es the devel opment of a com mon curr iculum fo r these grades in all secondary high schools in J amaica.

A t this first meeting, Wi lma Bail ey discussed some of the prob­lems in geography brought out by the CXC examinations. The draft docu­ment for a Grades 7-9 geography curricu lum was examined and dis­cu sse d. A subject committee was named and officers were elected.

Two meetings were held during the 1988/89 academic year. Teach­ers from 30 to 35 independent, secon­dary and high schools were present at these meetings. The issues dis ­cussed were: the textbook rental project, the CXC syllabus and field component and problems in teaching ce rtain areas of the syllabus, the need for regional chapters of the Associa­tion.

The focus for the 1989/90 acad­emic year will be on: field work, CXC school-based assessment, 6th form geography, and the prod uction of resource materials for geography teachers.

It is hoped that the response and ent husiasm shown by ge o graphy teachers du ring this first year will co ntinue to grow and that more teachers will eventually be involved in the Association.

Marjorie Vassa/l

MAPS FOR SCHOOLS

One of the main projects being un­dertaken by the present JGS Council is to sup ply all secondary- le vel schools that teach geography in Jam­aica with much-needed te aching maps for the classroom. The project is still at the planning stage, and sponsorship is being sought from the b usiness co mmunity to purchase these maps, particularly for schools in rural areas. It is envisage d that the p roject will proceed on a phased basis.

We need your help in organizing this project in the rural areas, and in contacting local businesses. The a­mount of money to purchase, say, a wall map of the Caribbean or copies of 1:50,000 topographic maps for in ­dividual schools is qui te mode st.

Contact person: Gaudio James President

BOOKREVlEW

The CXC examinations have gener­ated textbooks on var ious subjects. T here are a few geogra phy books at th is particular level, and the most recent is Mark Wilson's The Carib­bean Environm ent (Oxford Univer­sity Press, 1989) . Wilson is a British national who has been teaching in

Barbados for sever al year s an d has spent four to five years travelling to var ious Caribbean terri tories re­searching mater ial for this textbook. T remendo us effort and extensive re­search have gone into its compila­tion.

The author states that the book gives wide coverage of the CXC syl­la bus, bo th human a nd physic a l geography, as well as mapwork. It contains colourful and up-t o-date maps , photographs, diagrams and sta t is t ic a l rep resent a t ions. He brings out the re lati onship between human and physical geography and shows how these impact on people in the reg ion. The text covers the Car­ibbean and makes comparisons with other areas of the world, such as Ni­geria, India, Japan, Switzerland, the United States and Canada, by the use of case studies.

Detailed , lucid and uncompli­cated accoun ts of the Car ibbean ar e contained in most of the 273 pages of text. Numero us challenging exer­cises ar e inte rspersed th roughout and thes e, along with the profusion of maps, diagrams, tables and graphs, provide an oppo rtunity for the stu ­de nt to 'find out for himself.' These are also used as bases for the dev­elopment of practical and cognitive skills.

The use of colour thr oughout the text has done much to en hance the presentation of the mat er ial. T he cover, with the picturesque Kaieteur Falls of Guyana, captures the atten­tion of the re ader. (contin ued on page 5.)

QUIZ: Matching Pairs

The place-names of some cities and countries have changed in recent history. Below, 24 suc h place-nam es ar e jumbled together. Pick out 12 matching pairs. For each pair, indicate which is the old nam e and which the new name of the particular cou ntry or city. There are six cities and six countries represe nted in the list.

BEIJING ET HIOPIA GDANSK HARARE SR I LANKA GI LBERT ISLANDS CAMBOD IA ISTANBUL BANGLADESH PERSIA CONSTANTINO PLE LENINGRAD PEKING ST PETERSBUR G KIRIBATI KINSH ASA DAN ZIG LE OPOLD VILLE IRAN ABYSSINIA SALISB URY EAST PAKISTAN CEYLO N KAMPUCHEA

(Answers are given on the back page.) If you do not know where these places are, use an atlas to locate their modern names. Try to discover when and why each of the modern names was intr oduced.

Jamaican Geographer (1), October 1989 - 3

The Cockpits

EDITORIAL

The first JGS newsletter appeared in 1967, and since then over 50 issues have been produced, albeit on an interm ittent basis. The pub­lication of Jamaican Geographer marks a ne w phase in the newsletter's life: a new name and a new format to take advantage of the new desktop-computer pu blishing technology.

The JGS Council decided to upgrade its newsletter as part of a wider strategy to promote geog­raphy within Jam aica. The na­tional essay competition, held ear­lier this year, focused attention on geography in schools, and this em ­phasis will continue during the present Council's term of office. Details of f orthcom ing events, projects and fi eld trips are con ­tained ill this issue .

The content of Jamaican Geographer will refle ct the ac­tivities of the Society. Thus, some articles will address the principal concerns ofthe JGS over the years: environmental issues and the problem s surrounding geog­raphical education. There will be news items, information on careers for geographers, reviews of geog­raphical books an d magazine, and travel and fie ld trip reports.

Editorial policy is designed to keep you in touch with geography and geographers in Jamaica and abroad. We will try to stimulate and m aintain your interest in the subject and broaden your horizons by informing, challenging and entertaining. We may also surprise you. The acquisition of geog­raphical knowledge is not onlyper­sonally satisfying and enriching, but professionally trained geog­raphers now make significant con ­tributions to national develop­ment, ill Jamaica and in other de veloping countries.

MembershipoftheJGS entitles you to receive Jamaican Geog· .ra pher free. You can help the Society and the newsletter by en­couraging friends and colleagues to join the JGS, and by sending in your news and views.

4 - Jamaican Geographer ( 1), October 1989

The Status of Environmental Education in Jamaica: A Critical Review

Hopeton Peterson

'I can tell you , the fann ers knew about the forest without environmental educa­tion, and furthe rmore know they are destroying the very sustenance upon which future lives depen d. However, this knowledge does not translate into at­titude change, for less behavioral change, because the fanners are facing full­damental problems of socio-econom ic insecurity'. (Charlene Easton)

Developing countries are becoming increasingly aware that there is a strong relationship between environ­mental protection and economic development. This trend has largely been stimulated by the Stockholm Conference on the Environment, which led to the establishment of en­vironmental agencies in many dev­eloping countries. Recently, in Jam­aica, there has been increased focus on matters relating to the environ­ment in response to glaring evidence of environmental degradation.

E nvironme ntal degradation is proceeding rapidly in our rural areas as a result of inappropriate land use, poor farming practices. charcoal burning and timber and coffee cultiv­ation. The situat ion has deter iorated to the extent that Jam aica reportedly loses 80 million tons of topsoil an­nually. In the urban areas, air, water and solid waste pollution have be­come major problems. In fact, the basic health routine of many urban residents is already being affected.

Environmental decline in Jam ­aica can only be reversed if measures are implemented to protect the re­source systems being affe cted. Therefore, environmental edu catio has a great role to play in a proc ess in which Jamaicans become aware of and understand ecologica l principles and their relationship to human ac­tivities.

Formal environm ental education has been written into the education system of Jamaica covering the pr i­mary, secondary and tertiary levels, However, there is considerable dis­parity between written objectives

and reality, because the education system has failed to sensitize the Jamaican population about the im­portance of sound environmental management. The failure of the for­mal education system is due to a number of factors, as will be shown later.

According to the Jamaica Coun­try Environmental Profile, at the primary level students are 'exposed to general awareness of the environ­ment, the relationships between liv­ing and non-living components and the development of desirable alti ­tudes towards their surroundings' (p, 72). The method of teaching at this level is one in which environmentally relevant content is infused with other subjects in the curriculum. Although not an ineffective method by itself, it falls short because many teachers at the primary level are inadequately prepared to teach critical aspects of environmental education. A more effective approach in this case would be to have children participate in ac­tion learning projects addressing specific environ mental problems.

The secondary level lacks a struc­tured approach to environmental ed­ucation although aspects of it are of­fered in subjects such as general science, agricultural science, social studies, geography and biology. The fact is that students at the secondary level are examination-oriented; for most of them, one the exams are over very little remains of what they were taught. In light of this inherent constraint in the secondary schoo l system, the wisdom of D~ Henry Lowe's call for the CXC to develop

The Cockpits

an exclusive environmental syllabus has to be questioned. This approach certainly does not lend ~elf to the internalization of environmental concepts by students whose main aim is to pass an exam. Further, the in­troduction of such a subject would be meaningless unless it wer e made compulsory because, depending on their subject combinations, students could easily bypass this particu lar subject. This is another constraint to e nvir onme nta l ed ucation at the secondary level. For example, the student opting for a business focus takes subjects such as commerce, ac­counts, principles of business and economics. He may learn a 101 about the business environment but very lit­tie about the physica l environment which determines to a large extent the activities of the former.

At the tertiary level, various as­pects of environmental education are loosely taught in institutions such as UWI, the West Indies School of Pub­lic Health, the College of Arts, Science and Technology, teachers' colleges and the College of Agricu l­ture. The progress of environmental education a t this level is inhibite d by a lack of integration of the environ­mental disciplines taugh t and many students still see the specific parts instead of taking a holistic approach to its analysis. In this regard, the in­troduction of an Environmental Science option in the Faculty of Natural Sciences (U WI) must be praised. However. the effectiveness of this will depend largely on the abil­ity to attract or retain adequate staff. If this can be done, the university might even be able to develop an en­vironmental studies/science depart­ment.

Informal environmental educa­tion has received far less attention than its formal relative, yet this ap­proach to environmental education stands to be a major torchbearer in the educational process. The Jam­aica Country Environmental Profile defines informal environmental edu ­cation as 'the promotion of an awar ­

ness and understanding of ecological principles and their relevance to hu­man activities outside of the institu ­tionalized education system' (p . 75). In Jamaica, this is undertaken by public sector agencie s and non-gov­ernment organizations (NGOs) .

The activities undertaken by pub­lic sector agencies are few and far between . These agencies, in addi­tion to their bureaucratic structure, which slows down project implemen­tation, simply lack the personnel and financial resources needed to imple­ment meaningful environmental edu­cation programmes.

The work of NGOs in environ ­mental education has become en­trenched in the national life of Jam ­aica. There are two types of NGOs, those comprising professionals and those operating at the community level. Professional NGOs include the Natural History Society of Jamaica, the Jamaica Society of Scientists and Technologists, the Geological Society of Jamaica and the Jamaican Geographical Society . These organizations operate without full-t ime staff but still manage to carry out public environmental edu­cation programmes from time to time. The major problem with these organizations is that their activities are centred around groups of profes­sionals and academics and ther efore lack the mass appeal which may be necessary to sensitize Jamaicans about important environmental is­sues .

NGOs operating at the comm u­nity level are poised to make a sig­nificant contribution to environmen­tal education in Jamaica.

These organizations have devel­oped the ability to communicate to the large majority of Jamaicans. So fa r, community GOs have con­tributed very little to the advance­ment of environmental education in Jamaica as they have traditionally concentrated on welfare and com­munity dev elopmen t activitie s. However, they will have to playa major role in environmenta l

programmes because the prob lems facing Jamaica ar e largely com­munity-base d, and that is where they will be most effectively tackled.

To be effective, environmental programmes will have to bring a criti­cal social anal ysis to bear on the problems of environmental degrada­tion . Aware ness of environtnental problems is not enough to effect be­havioural changes; people must see the need for change. The man in upper Clarendon or St Mary who cuts down trees from the forest for charcoal burning might be contribut­ing to a po te ntial environmental problem, but he continues to do it out of economic need - there are few other opt ions open to him. To lec­ture him on the causes and effects of deforestation would be a meaning­less exercise.

Effective environmental manage­ment cannot be achieved without em­phasis on environmental education, both formal and in formal. In general, our education system is not providing our people and policy makers with knowledge of our natural resources. We owe it to our nation' s youth, in particular, to devise a sound environmental educa­tion pr ogramme as par t of our progres s towards sustainable development.

BOOKREVIEW (continued from page 3)

Like any other book which at­tempts to do everything, there are shortcomings. Although the sec­tion on physical geography is made relevant by the use of selected Caribbean examples, the material lacks some of the details required at CXC level. In spit e of this, the book will help geography come alive in the classroom, as both teachers and students are taken to o ther countrie s, and from one Caribbean territory to another on a new adventure.

Marjorie Vassal!

Jamaican Geographer (1), October 1989 - 5

Campus Geography

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS

In 1987 the Depa rtment of Geog­raphy, UwI,co-s ponsored two inter­nat ional conferences in Jamaica. T he pr oceedings of these conferen­ces were recently published.

The firs t conference was the In ­tern ation al Symposium on the Physi­cal and H uman Resources of the T ropics, held at the Mona campus between Au gust 4 and 7, 1987. T he JGS was a co-sp onsor, as were CrDA and the Department of Geogra phy, University of Calgary. T he principal sponsor was the Intern ational Geog­raphical Union (IGU), through its W ork ing G roup on Clima tology. The proceedings were published in 1988, edited by Lawrence C. Nkem­dirim. Wi lma Bailey ('Child Mor ­bid ity in the KM A, 1983') , Alan Eyre ('Evidence of Man-Induced Climatic Change in the Fall and Hope River Basins ofJamaica') , an d former UWl g e o gr a phe r Je r em y C o l lymo r e (' G eophysical E vents and Human Use Systems: A Revised Research Agenda') are all re presented in the volume.

The second conference was the Meeting of Experts on Hazard Map ­pin g in the Caribbean, he ld at the Jamaica Conference Centre, Kings­

ton, from 30 November to 4 Decem­ber, 1987. The principal sponsor was the Pan Caribbean Disaster Prep­a r e d n e ss a nd P revent ion Project!U ND RO ; the other co-spon­sor was t he O ff ice of Di sas te r Preparedness. The proceedin gs were published in 1989, edited by David Barker. Among its contents are papers by former UWI geog­raphy lecturer E leanor Jones ('Pre­limin ary Survey of the Coastline Vul­ne r ab ility of the Ca r ibbean: A Summary R eport') and former UWI geographer s Jeremy Collymore and Mark Griffith (' Flooding in Speights ­town: T owa r d s a F lo o d Ma n­agement Strategy') .

POSTGRADUATE RES EARCH: The Nutrit ional Effects of Cash

Crop Production on Pre- Schoolers

P rotein calorie malnu tr ition consti­tutes a grave problem for health per ­sonnel and the peoples of the Third World. Health surveys conducted in Jamaica over the last three decades have indicated that this continues to be a serious health concern .

In the most re cent Nati ona l H ea lth Survey, by the Ministr y of He alth in 1985, 7.6% of the children

Recent Publications by UWI Staff

Bailey, W., Wynter, H. and Lee,A. (1988) 'Women in search of stability', Social Science Medicine, 26(6), pp 619-623. .

Bailey, W. (1988) 'Child morbidity in the Kingston Metropolitan Area' , Social Science Medicine, 26(11), pp 1117-1124.

Barker, D. (1989) 'A periphery in genesis and exodus: reflections on rur al- urban relations in Jamaica', in Potter, RB. and Unwin, T. (eds) The Geography of Urban-Rural Interaction in Developing Countries, Routledge, Lo ndon, pp 294-322.

Barker, D. and McGregor, D.F.M. (1988) 'Land degr adation in the Yallahs Basin, Jamaica: histor ical notes and contemporary obs ervations', Geography, 73(2) , pp 116-124.

Barker, D. and Spence, B. (1988) 'Afro-Caribbean agr iculture: a Jamaican Maroon community in transition ', Geographical Journal, 154(2), pp 199-210.

Eyre, L.A. (1988) 'Kaka du stage three - the way ahead', National Parks Journal, 32(6), pp 31-34.

Eyre, L.A. (1989) 'Hurricane Gilbert: Car ibbean record breaker', Weather, 44(4), pp 160-164.

Eyre, LA . (1989) 'Slow death of a tro pical rainforest : t~~ Coc~pit Co untry of Jamaica' , Environm ental Quality and Stability, Iv -A, pp 599-606.

6 - Jam aican Geographer (1), October 1989

in their sam ple were moderately or severely malnourished. T heir find ­ings also disclosed that the ra tes of undernutrition on the southern coast of the island were noti ceably high er tha n those on the north side. This north-south dic hotomy has raised new questions, answers to which, it is hoped, will lead to a clearer under ­stan ding of the factors re sulting in unde rn utrition.

The objective of the resear ch is to assess the relationship be tween cash­crop agric ulture and undernutrition. Field work was condu cted in te n enumeration districts in St Catherine and St Ann. The res ear ch is evaluat­ing the effects of an involvement in cash-crop production on food-crop product ion, co nsumption , income and, in particular, the nutritional im­pact on pr e-schoolers.

L orraine Campbell

M.Sc. FOR LEARIE MILLER

L earie Miller , who gr ad uated from UWI's Geography Department in 1981, was awarded a Co mmonwealth Scholarship in 1987. He recently re ­turned fro m the U niversity of Toron­to , where he successfully completed an M.Sc. in E nvironmental Manage ­men t and Physical Geography. At Toronto, he was jointly registered at the Institute for Environmental Stud ­ies and the Department of Geog­raphy, the latter having over 80 post­gr aduates.

H e maintain ed an excellent A record in the seven postgraduate courses he stu died. His rese arch pr oj ect wa s e n t it le d ' T h e A p­plicability of Soil Erosion Models to a D eveloping Country: A Jamaica n Ca se Study' and evalua te d so il erosion prediction models. H is su ­pe rvisor was Pr of. Shiu Hung-L uk, wh o has wo rked extensive ly on erosion pr oblems in China.

Learie is one of a num ber of for­mer U WI geography graduates who have achieved outstanding record s at the postgraduate level at overseas universities. A keen geographer, he brings back to Jamaica valuable tech­nical skills in physical geography and computer mapping.

Hill and Gully Notes

Old Jamaican Parishes

Day-Dawn Sim on and DavidBarker

The map of 1amaican parishes has not always looked the same as it does in Fig. 1. It is interesting to trace the evolut ion of the map of parish boun­daries through history.

Aft er the English took Jamaica in 1655, the y star ted to divide the island into p ar ishes and precincts. Sir Thomas Modyford, in 1664, note d that there were seven established parishes: St John 's, Clarendon, S t David's, St Andrew's, and St Thom as, with Port Roval and St Kat harine (now St Catherine '; both designat ed as 'Town and Parish'. In 1763, Vere was carved out of Clarendon, being named after th e first wife of the L ieut enant-G overn or Sir Thomas Lvnch. In 1675, C larendon lost another portion to the new parish of S t Dorothy, and in the same year St Thom as-in -the-Vale, nam e d in honour of the then Governor, was created out of a portion of St Kath­arine.

By 1683, there wer e 15 parishes: Clarendon, Vere, S t Joh n, St George, St M a ry , S t A n n , S t James, St E lizabeth, St Thomas, S t David. Port Royal, S t Andrew, S t Katharine, S t Dorothy, and St Thomas-in-the-Vale. In 1693, the 'Town and Parish' of Kingston wa s fo r m e d a ft e r the earthquake whic h had devastat ed Port Roy al a year earlier.

Four new parishes were created in the eighteenth century: Westmore­land (1703) from part of St Elizabeth, Portland ( 1723) fr o m pa rt of St George and part of St Thomas -in­the-East, Hanover (1723) from part of Wes tm orel and , an d Trelawny (1770), which appeared after a sub­division of St James.

In 1814, Manchester was forme d, made up of parts of Clarendon, Vere and St E liza be t h. Metcalf wa s founded in 1841, from parts of St George and St Mary, and named in honour of the then Governor, Sir Charles Metcalf. Thus, at this dat e, Jamaica had 22 parishes (see Fig. 2).

Fo llowing bitter disputes be ­tween planter and labouring classes

Jam aican Geographer (1), October 1989 - 7

N

t

40 I

kmo''-­ ----'

Figure 1. Modem parish boundaries in Jamaica.

t

40 I

kmo I

Figure 2. Parish boundaries immediately p rior to 1867 reorganization.

in eastern Jamaica, which led to the Mora nt Bay Rebe lli on in 1865, Crown Colony Government was in­troduced. The new Governor, Sir Pe ter Grant , was a n able a d­ministrator amd set about reorganiz­ing the institut ions of the colony. Thus, in 1867 the number of parishes was reduced from 22 to the 14 we are familiar with today. Eight parishes disappeared from the map of lam­aica: St George, Metcalf, St Th om­as-in-the-Vale, St John , St Dorothy,

N

Vere, St David, and Port Royal. An inspection and comparison of the two map s will reveal the fate of those eight parishes.

SOURCES: Compiled from a variety of sources at the Institute ofJamaica, the principal one being Frank Cundall's Historic 1amaica,published by the In­stitute in 1915.

Communications

CARIBBEAN GE OGRAPHY

The next issue of Caribbean Geog­raphy, Volume 2 Number 4, will be published in November. I.ts con ­tents include th e foll owmg ar ­ticles:

• Predicting traditional farmers ' responses to mod­ernization: case of a Jamaican Maroon village ­Balfour Spence

• W aterfront development and redevelopment in the West Indies - BrianJ. Hudson

• The Bahamas: the cost of fragmentation - Gerald Fish

• Pattern of abandonment of sugar est ates in Jamaica during the late nineteenth century - Veront Satchell

• The changing Caribbean: na­tional park development in Grenada - L. A/all Eyre

Caribbean Geography is published by Longman Jamaica. Ltd. Sub­scription rates are available on re­quest from:

Longman Jamaica Ltd 43 Second Street Newport West P .O. Box 489 Kingston 10 Te l: 92-34393, 35017, 34568-9

This is the eighth issue of the jour ­na l to be published. Back i sues ar e available from the publisher or from the UWI Bookshop.

NEW J GS COUNCIL

President, Claudia James Vice President, Michael Tharkur Secreta ry, Day-Dawn Simon Treasure r, Vernon Mulchansingh Membership Secre ta ry, Fitzroy Wi/-

Iiams Chairman of Pu blica tions Subcom­

mittee, David Barker Ordinary Members, Cheryl .Dixon,

Karen Sinclair, Donna SImon, Carol Thomas, Lilieth Daley

Co-opted Member, Hopeton Peter­son

JGS T·SHIRTS

All-cotton JGS T-shirts will soo n be available. They ar e white, have the JGS logo on the front and a.specially commissioned map of Jamaica on the back. Price: $40. Advance payment is needed with your order. Please indicat e the size(s) you need (S, M, L, XL).

Contact person: Fitzroy Williams Membership Secretary

JGSCALENDAR

October: National Wood and Water Day. Jointly organized with the Natural History Society of Jamaica. A seminar on 'Fast Growing Trees,' to be held at the UWI cam pus.

October: Field Trip to Mandeville and environs, organized by lGS members in the Mandeville area.

November: Weekend Field Trip to the John Crow Mountains.

January: Clean-up of Lime Cay. Supervised group of school ­children to collect litter and gar ­bage.

February/March: LectureSeries for 'A' level geography students at UWI. Teachers invited too; refreshments will be provided.

Jamaican ~ogi.~lJher· D~~d:Barkef) : : : : : : : : ' ; : :beparttrientpC Geogr~p~y, U.n.iversitypf

. , .:­

.the West.Indies"Kingston} , phone: 92-72,1.29 UWrpublishei~ \~o¢ianoti , PO Box 42, . Mooa.Kirigston7':, .i ""

Printing;, Q\\'lSchbofbf pri~ti~.

8 - Jamaican Geographer (1), October1989

NElWORKING

Caribbean Conservation Association

The CCA was founded in 1967 as a regional, non-gov~rn~entai, non profit-making orgamzation. T~e re

are a present over 200 Ass~cia~e members fro m some 20 countries 10

the wider Car ibb ean. The CCA pub­lishes a regular newsletter, Carib­bean Conservation News, and a mag­azine , Caribian a. If you. ~re interested in joining the Association (stude nt membership is av.ailable) ~r would like to obtain de ta ils of their act ivities, the contact address is:

Savannah Lodge The Garrison St Michael Barbados

Geography Teachers' Association ofJamaica

Geography teachers who are in ­terested in becoming involved in the Association are asked to contact:

Marjorie Vassal/ Core Curriculum Unit Ministry ofEducation Caenwood Centre phone: 92-29370

QUIZ ANSWE RS

Cities' Names

Modem Old Leningrad St Petersburg Istanbul Constantinople Beijing Peking Gdansk Danzi g Harare Salisbury Kinsh asa Leopoldville

Countries' NIlD1e5

Modem Old Ethiopia Abyssinia Sri Lanka Ceylon Iran Persia Bangladesh East Pakistan Kampuchea Cambodia Kiribati Gilbert Islands