Resort Report

Learning to compost on South Caicos. By Anna-Handte-Reinecker, Program Assistant, The School for Field Studies, Center for Marine Resource Studies, South Caicos We often forget to appreciate the soil beneath our feet. Soil, which is a complex combination of organic and inorganic matter, supports life as we know it. Simply put, without soil, neither plants nor animals ...

When it comes to anemones, there’s more than meets the eye. By Ben Farmer, Waterfront Assistant, The School for Field Studies, South Caicos Anemones, perhaps the most frequently mispronounced animals in the sea, are fascinating creatures. The vibrant colors and swaying tentacles characteristic of anemones are staples in the backdrop of tropical coral reefs and tide pools ...

While we face confounding times, in the bush it’s business as usual. By B Naqqi Manco, TCI Naturalist I was that kid in the class who, when group projects were assigned, conjured every conceivable reason to work independently. In a genetic culmination of my mother’s “get out of the way so I can get it done correctly” ...

Ten years of environmental advocacy. By Don Stark, Co-Founder and Chairman, TCRF On May 10, 2020, the Turks & Caicos Reef Fund (TCRF) began its eleventh year as the only environmental advocacy non-profit in the Turks & Caicos Islands. Founded in 2010 by Don Stark and David Stone, TCRF has worked tirelessly as an advocate for the ...

Atlantic region expected to be active. By Paul Wilkerson ~ Photos By Marta Morton, www.harbourclubvillas.com Although hurricane season officially starts on June 1, by mid-May Tropical Storm Arthur was already moving along the Outer Banks of North Carolina. What are we to take away from this early start to the season?  Is it unusual to have named ...

Jeffrey Handfield’s vision changed the course of TCI history. By Pastor Bradley Handfield ~ Images Courtesy Handfield Family Jeffrey Lemond Handfield was a visionary man chosen by his Creator to do something special for his country, particularly the islands of Providenciales, North Caicos and Middle Caicos. My father, Jeffrey Handfield, was born in 1930, nine years before the ...

The lockdown brought to light TCI’s many positive qualities. By Bernadette Hunt, Broker/Owner Turks & Caicos Property Like many successful businesspeople, I spent much time working, travelling and socializing. Sometimes I was so busy, I didn’t always appreciate my surroundings or lifestyle. TCI’s strict lockdown and country closure to control the Coronavirus pandemic was an opportunity for ...

Combina golf is rich in North Caicos charm. By Jody Rathgeb ~ Photos by Tom Rathgeb Forget all your usual notions about golf courses or miniature golf. Fairways of grass? Forget it. Manicured putting greens? Forget it. Windmills or tiny castles or colourful concrete animals? Nope. The Combina Golf Course at Horse Stable Beach on North Caicos ...

East Caicos is a treasure trove of relics. Story & Photos By John Galleymore When I was very young, I was shown at school a very basic picture depicting “How History Works.” It showed layers of the Earth with the oldest relics the deepest and those more recent near the surface. I soon came to discover this ...

The Lucayan petroglyphs of East Caicos. By Dr. Michael P. Pateman Archaeological studies of the Lucayan Islands (which includes The Bahamas and Turks & Caicos Islands) have mainly focused on settlement surveys and large scale village excavations. However, early archaeologists (late 19th and early 20th century) focused most of their efforts on the cave systems of these ...

Advances in the education of children with special needs in the TCI. By Norah Machia ~ Photos by Anthony Machia Many positive things are happening for children with special needs in the Turks & Caicos Islands as the result of a partnership between the TCI Government, a nonprofit organization of American and Canadian volunteers and a private ...

Slavery and the Loyalists in “Grand Caicos.” By Ben Stubenberg When the first British Loyalists arrived on the shores of North and Middle Caicos and Providenciales following the American Revolution in the late 1700s, they took with them enslaved people and a mindset of entitlement and power that mirrored the mores and hierarchy of the American South. ...

Good news for the TCI’s National Tree. Story & Photos By B Naqqi Manco, TCI Naturalist The Turks & Caicos Islands’ National Tree, the stately Caicos pine Pinus caribaea var. bahamensis, has had a rough few decades recently. Following the introduction of the invasive pine tortoise scale insect, which infests trees through their fatality, as well as ...

Treatment program to fight Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease underway. By the Staff of the Turks & Caicos Reef Fund (TCRF) Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) is a new coral disease that was first discovered off the coast of Florida in 2014. Over the past five years it has spread rapidly up and down the Atlantic ...

Octopus spotting in the TCI. By Dr. Caitlin E. O’Brien, The School for Field Studies Center for Marine Resource Studies Caribbean waters are home to several species of octopus, which are some of the most extraordinary creatures of the ocean. Octopuses (not octopi) can be more difficult to spot than many other marine creatures, but the experience of ...