Botanic Park Opens Its Doors for First Look at New Native Plant Nursery

By Christopher Tobutt

The Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park opened its gates on Saturday for a community open house that offered the public a first look at its new native plant nursery — an early milestone in a major restoration initiative funded through the UK Government’s Darwin Plus programme. The event drew families, gardeners, conservationists, and representatives from the Ministry of Health, Environment and Sustainability who have helped make the intitiative possible,  including Hon. Katherine Ebanks Wilks, MP, Minister for Health, Environment and Sustainability, who toured the nursery taking a keen interest in everything she saw.

The morning began with a guided walk along the Park’s original woodland trail, the very first section opened to visitors when the Botanic Park was established in 1994. Unlike the curated gardens developed in later years, this path remains a simple track through old forest, where native trees regenerate naturally and the landscape still resembles Cayman’s pre development ecology. Staff paused beneath the canopy of mahogany, thatch palms, and other indigenous species to explain how each contributes to the islands’ ecological health. One highlight was the delicate Evolvulus, a low, blue flowered plant common on Little Cayman and essential to the survival of an endemic snail species — an example of how even the smallest native plants play outsized roles in local biodiversity.

Communications Specialist with the Ministry, Benita Adesuyan said the open house marked a significant step in addressing a long standing challenge: the scarcity of native plants available to the public. “The Ministry has helped the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park to get a grant from the UK Development Fund, Darwin Plus, and that is being used to create a nursery for native species of plants,” she explained. “Today is going to be a first look at the new nursery… the plants will eventually be available for landscapers and the public so that we can propagate those plants, and have more native species growing here in Cayman.”

She added that the initiative aims to shift landscaping habits across the islands. “Because they are not so readily available, landscapers and gardeners are using more exotic, and sometimes invasive plants. But this initiative will mean that more native species are available.”

Inside the new nursery, visitors were shown the infrastructure funded by the Darwin Plus grant, including sturdy metal propagation tables designed to support large numbers of seedlings. Staff demonstrated seed cleaning techniques, the use of gauze bags to protect ripening fruits from birds, and simple viability tests — such as placing seeds in water to see whether they sink or float. These demonstrations offered practical tips that home gardeners could easily adopt.

General Manager John Lawrus said the funding arrived at a pivotal moment. “We are really excited to get these funds. Botanic parks around the world are typically underfunded, so getting grants and donations are really the ticket to development,” he said. “It’s really timely — there is a movement to push for new natives and native use in restoration, and just getting them back out into landscapes. They bring insects, pollinators, wildlife… they do much better because it’s their native environment, so they require less inputs, less watering, once they get established.”

Although the project is still in its early stages, the Park’s horticultural manager — described by Lawrus as the “heavy duty lifter” — had already begun propagating seeds even before the funding was confirmed. With the nursery now operational, Lawrus said that in a few months the first batches of native plants should be ready for sale.

As visitors drifted out of the nursery and back into the sunlight, the sense of momentum was unmistakable. The open house was more than a tour; it was a glimpse of a future where native plants once again shape Cayman’s landscapes, from private gardens to restored wild spaces.

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