The Captain Roland Roberts House Environmental Center in New Plymouth, Green Turtle Cay, has been open just a few months and already hundreds of visitors and several school groups have visited the newly-restored former home of a Bahamian sea captain and minister. Reef Relief, a Key West-based non-profit organization, operates the center as a public educational facility to increase awareness and support for protecting the coral reefs in this fast growing area of the northern Bahamas.
The center hosts visitors daily except Sundays; they tour the house that dates from 1840 and learn about coral reefs. Currently, a summer program for children is underway providing lessons and activities on coral reefs, sea turtles, reef fish, beaches and islands.
The center features a video/classroom, children’s activity room marine library, offices and facilities for visiting researchers and speakers. It supports Reef Relief’s marine projects in the area that include maintaining 18 reef mooring buoys at the most popular reefs to eliminate anchor damage, a coral photo-monitoring survey to document change on the reefs, and a coral nursery to salvage storm damaged elkhorn coral. The walls now feature displays on coral reefs, mangroves, seagrasses, endangered sea turtles, the ecology of the Bahamas, fisheries regulations, the coral survey and mooring buoys.
The classic Bahamian house was constructed of Abaco pine, has full upstairs and downstairs front and rear porches and sash windows with louvered storm shutters. It has been historically restored by the Architectural Preservation Foundation of Geen Turtle Cay and leased to Reef Relief. Major support for the project was provided by the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund.
An opening reception was held March 28, 2003, with Scott Roberts, grandson of Captain Roland Roberts, delivering the opening remarks.
The keynote speaker was Mr. George Mackey of the Bahamas National Museum who noted that, “Quite noticably, the Bahamas is gradually developing a greater appreciation for the importance of its historical preservation. While the Architectural Preservation Foundation of Green Turtle Cay prides itself in the remarkable work it does in maintaining the old colonial decor of its building, it was nevertheless greatly assisted by Reef Relief in the successful restoration of the historic Roberts house into a non-profit multi-purpose community facility.”
For further information, contact Reef Relief at the Captain Roland Roberts House Environmental Center, GreenTurtle Cay, Abacos, Bahamas telephone (242) 365-4014 or read more and view photos online at www.reefrelief.org
From Reef Relief
