Resort Report

By Amy Avenant, DECR Environment Outreach Coordinator Single-use plastic shopping bags will soon be removed from supermarkets and shops across the TCI. The government-approved import ban will come into effect from January 1, 2019, with a ban on the use of single- use plastic bags by retailers to come into effect on May 1, 2019. There ...

Early photographers on Grand Turk. By Jeffrey Dodge Edmund Neale Coverley, one of the most active early photographers on Grand Turk at the beginning of the 20th century, has been the subject of several past articles in the Astrolabe. He is well known because many of his photographs were used to produce early picture postcards. The earliest postcards ...

Foodies are in for a unique experience at The Frenz Deck. Story & Photos By Dominique Rolle, Caya Hico Media Walking with my friend Lorraine Kenlock in her lush backyard garden, I feel transported from Grace Bay into the heartland of the Turks & Caicos—North Caicos—or perhaps Jamaica where such fantastic foliage is a common way of ...

Investigating Grand Turk’s Over Island Graveyard. Story & Photos By Matthew A. Williamson, Ph.D. My apologies to the author John Berendt, who penned the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, for only slightly changing his title for this article. I think it’s appropriate though, given the work that I do and where I live. ...

It’s never too late to get in shape when extreme challenges are ahead. By TCI Explorer John Galleymore ~ Photos By Brilliant Studios, www.brilliantstudios.com As I explained my next planned adventure and what it entailed, a close friend replied, “Hadn’t you look to start getting in shape?” He cited a recent picture of me on East Caicos ...

TCI slave escapes in the early 1800s. By Ben Stubenberg Few endeavors are more woven into the culture and history of the Turks & Caicos Islands than sailing. Ever since the Bermudians rediscovered TCI some 350 years ago and began collecting salt from the natural salinas, boats played a defining role. By day, fast and agile sloops ...

Climate change resilience and East Caicos coral reefs. By Kathleen Wood, Don Stark and Marsha Pardee In January 2017, the Turks & Caicos Reef Fund (TCRF), in association with SWA Environmental and Marine Environmental Services (MES), received a Swift Small Grant from the European Union’s BEST 2.0 Project. Entitled “East Caicos KBA’s Corals and Coasts: A Key ...

Edward C. Gartland Youth Centre celebrates a decade of caring about kids. By Katherine Withers Green ~ Photos Courtesy Edward C. Gartland Youth Centre In November 2008, the Edward C. Gartland Youth Centre opened its doors to the young people of the Turks & Caicos, becoming the first teen-orientated facility in the Islands. The brainchild of the ...

The unofficial national tonic of the Turks & Caicos Islands Story & Photos By B Naqqi Manco, TCI Naturalist “Bush doctor,” I corrected my students, “not witch doctor. He makes herbal medications, he doesn’t fly around on a broom.” We approached the low, flat house, so shrouded in a tangle of fruit trees and wildly scrambling ornamental ...

New non-profit organization helps control stray animal population. By Kathy Borsuk~ Photos Courtesy SNiP Even though I don’t own a dog or cat, the name “SNiP” (which stands for Spay Neuter Program Inc.) causes me to cringe a bit in my inner parts. That’s until I remember how important these simple operations are towards controlling the animal ...

Digitizing TCI’s archival heritage collections. By Dr. Kelley Scudder-Temple, Dr. Michael P. Pateman and Vanessa Forbes-Pateman Although occupied for more than 300 years, the Turks & Caicos Islands have been historically governed from afar. This absence of direct governance has resulted in limited archival conservation measures, leaving tens of thousands of rare documents in peril. While the Turks ...

The Loyalists’ impact on the Turks & Caicos Islands. By Dr. Charlene Kozy Casualties of war usually are counted as members of the military. In the War for American Independence, the casualty count included civilians that did not agree with the Revolution. The Revolution was a minority movement. One-third of the population at the time were neutral, more ...

This new South Caicos venture combines kayaking and fishing. Story & Photos By TCI Explorer John Gallymore The Turks & Caicos Islands are, admittedly, all about the water, and it is often said that you need to be either “on it, or looking at it” in order to live here year-round. Traditionally, our amazing ocean has been the ...

Confronting history and human limits in the deep. By Ben Stubenberg You are alone with yourself. Even your body slips away so that it feels like a speck of consciousness that’s floating in the abyss. —William Truebridge, World Champion Freediver More than sport, freediving transforms the men and women who surrender themselves to the sea, leaving behind the realm of ...

Local watersports company hosts turtle tagging expeditions. Copy By Marine Conservations Society (www.mcsuk.org) Photo By Marta Morton The Turks & Caicos Islands Turtle Project is working for better management of the marine turtle populations found in the TCI. Through groundbreaking biological and social research, this collaborative project aims to involve the TCI Government and fishermen in the management ...