The Asa Wright Nature Centre and Lodge is a

nature resort Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are p ...

and scientific research station in the

Arima Arima, officially The Royal Chartered Borough of Arima is the easternmost and second largest in area of the three boroughs of Trinidad and Tobago. It is geographically adjacent to Sangre Grande and Arouca at the south central foothills of th ...

Valley of the

Northern Range The Northern Range is the range of tall hills across north Trinidad, the major island in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. The hills range from the Chaguaramas peninsula on the west coast to Toco in the east. The Northern Range covers approx ...

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

. The centre is one of the top

birdwatching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, b ...

spots in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

; a total of 256 species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

s have been recorded there. The centre is owned by a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

trust. The nature centre is on and includes a main estate house with inn and restaurant serving dishes such as

callaloo Callaloo (many spelling variants, such as kallaloo, calaloo, calalloo, calaloux or callalloo; ) is a popular Caribbean vegetable dish. There are many variants across the Caribbean, depending on the availability of local vegetables. The main in ...

soup with ingredients from an on-site organic garden. Non-adjacent properties have also been added to the centre's land holdings.

Description

Asa Wright, her porch at Springhill home

The major properties are the Spring Hill Estate and the adjacent

William Beebe Charles William Beebe ( ; July 29, 1877 – June 4, 1962) was an American naturalist, ornithologist, marine biologist, entomologist, explorer, and author. He is remembered for the numerous expeditions he conducted for the New York Zoological S ...

Tropical Research Station (also known as Simla), which was established by the famous naturalist and explorer

as a tropical research station for the

New York Zoological Society New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

. Beebe bought the 'Verdant Vale' estate in 1949 and named it after

Simla Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared as the summer capital of British India. After independence, the ...

in India, which he had visited in 1910. Beebe stayed at Springhill in 1949 with the Wrights, while water and electricity connections were made to Simla, four miles down the road. His bedroom is now the Springhill manager's office. The owners of the Spring Hill Estate, Newcombe and Asa Wright, hosted the noted

ornithologists __NOTOC__ This is a list of ornithologists who have articles, in alphabetical order by surname. See also :Ornithologists. A * John Abbot – US * Clinton Gilbert Abbott – US * William Louis Abbott – US * Joseph H. Acklen – US *Humayun Ab ...

David Snow and Barbara Snow in the 1950s. They made detailed studies of the

oilbird The oilbird (''Steatornis caripensis''), locally known as the , is a bird species found in the northern areas of South America including the Caribbean island of Trinidad. It is the only species in the genus ''Steatornis'', the family Steatornith ...

s and the Bearded bellbird. Starting in 1965, Richard ffrench and Don Eckelberry collaborated in eventually publishing ''A Guide to the Birds of Trinidad and Tobago''. The Wrights' home became internationally renowned for its easy access to wildlife, especially the

(''Steatornis caripensis'') colonies in the nearby Dunston Cave. The Asa Wright Nature Center was established on 22 Dec. 1967, with the Royal Bank Trust Company (Trinidad) Limited appointed as Trustee. The Trust was meant to protect Springhill "in perpetuity", developing its agriculture in an "ecologically sound" way while facilitating its "scientific and educational" potential. Asa was allowed to live out the remaining years of her life according to a provision in agreement. She died in 1971. In 1974, the New York Zoological Society donated Simla to the trust.Gould (2004), p. 404. The nature centre in 2001 acquired the Rapsey Estate, known as 'El Naranjo' for TT$3,3 million. The total nature centre holdings are now over 1,300 acres, but this still makes up less than 5% of the valley.

Springhill

The home was built from 1906 to 1908 on the cocoa estate originally known as Clearwater by Charles Meyer, on property bought by his father Fredrich Wilhelm Meyer in the Arima Valley. The first four of eleven children between Charles and his wife Julia Marie Pouchet were born at Springhill. The house was characterized by high ceilings, six rooms, with a hallway between the rear four, and a wide veranda overlooking the valley. However, his father's estates were confiscated in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

by the Trinidad colonial government, since he was of German origin. Charles' cocoa estate, already mortgaged, could no longer turn a profit when plagued by

witch's broom Witch's broom or witches' broom is a deformity in a woody plant, typically a tree, where the natural structure of the plant is changed. A dense mass of shoots grows from a single point, with the resulting structure resembling a broom or a ...

, and was reverted to the Agricultural Bank in 1925. Andrew and Marianne Bernard bought the property in 1926, but once again the estate reverted to the bank. The estate remained neglected until purchased in 1936 by Joseph Holmes, son of

Joseph Austin Holmes Joseph Austin Holmes (January 23, 1859 – July 15, 1915) was a geologist and occupational safety and health pioneer, best known as the first director of the U.S. Bureau of Mines. He is the namesake of the Joseph A. Holmes Safety Association cr ...

. Holmes added two bathrooms, a water supply,

septic tank A septic tank is an underground chamber made of concrete, fiberglass, or plastic through which domestic wastewater (sewage) flows for basic sewage treatment. Settling and anaerobic digestion processes reduce solids and organics, but the treatme ...

, generator, two room guest house, and a bathing pool at the foot of the waterfall. In the 1930s, it became a weekend retreat for

Pan Am Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...

pilots, US Navy families, and government officials. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Newcome and Asa Wright bought all of the property except the ten acres containing the guest house, pool and waterfall. However, in 1955, Asa acquired that remaining acreage after Newcome's death.

Wildlife

The centre is one of the most biodiverse areas in the West Indies and is home to more than 250 bird species. Bird species at the nature centre include

purple honeycreeper The purple honeycreeper (''Cyanerpes caeruleus'') is a small Neotropical bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is found in the tropical New World from Colombia and Venezuela south to Brazil, and on Trinidad. A few, possibly introduced birds h ...

, tufted coquette (a hummingbird),

tropical mockingbird The tropical mockingbird (''Mimus gilvus'') is a resident breeding bird from southern Mexico to northern and eastern South America and in the Lesser Antilles and other Caribbean islands. Taxonomy and systematics The tropical mockingbird has ...

, and

(a nocturnal fruit eater).5 Asa Wright Nature Centre; Trinidad and Tobago November/ December 2011 Afar page 92

Red brocket deer The red brocket (''Mazama americana'') is a species of brocket deer from forests in South America, ranging from northern Argentina to Colombia and the Guianas. It also occurs on the Caribbean island of Trinidad (it also occurred on the island of ...

, the elusive

ocelot The ocelot (''Leopardus pardalis'') is a medium-sized spotted wild cat that reaches at the shoulders and weighs between on average. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. Two subspecies are recognized. It is native to the southwes ...

, the

Brazilian porcupine The Brazilian porcupine (''Coendou prehensilis'') is a porcupine found in Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, French Guiana, Peru, Paraguay, Suriname, Bolivia and Trinidad, with a single record from Ecuador. It inhabits tropical ...

and the

southern tamandua The southern tamandua (''Tamandua tetradactyla''), also called the collared anteater or lesser anteater, is a species of anteater from South America and the island of Trinidad in the Caribbean. It is a solitary animal found in many habitats, from ...

have been recorded in the forests of the centre.

Red-rumped agouti The red-rumped agouti (''Dasyprocta leporina''), also known as the golden-rumped agouti, orange-rumped agouti or Brazilian agouti, is a species of agouti from the family Dasyproctidae. Distribution It is native to northeastern South America, wh ...

is another mammal that occurs at the centre and that can be often seen near the main house.

Gallery

File:Asa Wright's home 1967.jpg, in 1967 File:089 Northern Range, Asa Wright Nature Centre - 28.11.07.jpg, On the veranda File:0019waterfall.JPG, Waterfall in the grounds File:Heliconia chartacea.JPG,

Heliconia ''Heliconia'', derived from the Greek word (), is a genus of flowering plants in the monotypic family Heliconiaceae. Most of the ca 194 known species are native to the tropical Americas, but a few are indigenous to certain islands of the we ...

'Sexy Pink' in the grounds File:Chlorophanes spiza - male on feeder.jpg,

Green honeycreeper The green honeycreeper (''Chlorophanes spiza'') is a small bird in the tanager family. It is found in the tropical New World from southern Mexico south to Brazil, and on Trinidad. It is the only member of the genus ''Chlorophanes''. Taxonomy Th ...

at the feeders File:TnT Asa Wright Weißnackenkolibris.jpg,

White-necked jacobin The white-necked jacobin (''Florisuga mellivora'') is a medium-size hummingbird that ranges from Mexico south through Central America and northern South America into Brazil, Peru and Bolivia. It is also found in Trinidad & Tobago. Other common ...

s File:Trinidad bats.jpg, Fruit bats at the feeders File:Joceyln Crane c. 1960.jpg,

Jocelyn Crane Jocelyn Crane (June 11, 1909 – December 16, 1998), aka Jocelyn Crane-Griffin, was an American carcinologist, most famous for her research on the fiddler crab and her work with the New York Zoological Society’s (now the Wildlife Conservation S ...

visiting Centre c. 1960

Footnotes

References

* * Gould, Carol Grant (2004). ''The Remarkable Life of William Beebe''. Washington DC: Island Press. . * Herklots, G. A. C. 1961. ''The Birds of Trinidad and Tobago''. Collins, London. Reprint 1965. * Linblad, Jan. 1966. ''Journey to red birds''. Trans. by Gwynne Vevers. Reprint: Collins, London. 1969. * Rudder, Joy (2009). ''The old house and the dream: The story of The Asa Wright Nature Centre''. Prospect Press,

Media and Editorial Projects Limited Media and Editorial Projects Limited (MEP or MEP Caribbean Publishers) is a private publishing company based in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. The company was established in 1991 by Jeremy TaylorVaneisa Baksh"Going to Ground Again" ''Trinid ...

, Maraval, Port of Spain, Trinidad. . *Snow, D. W. 1956. "The dance of the Manakins." ''Animal Kingdom'' (59) 3: pp. 86–91. * Zahl, Paul A. 1954. ''Coro-Coro: The World of the Scarlet Ibis''. Bobbs-Merrill, Indianapolis / New York. * Worth, C. Brooke. 1967. ''A Naturalist in Trinidad''. J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia and New York.

External links

*
William Beebe Tropical Research Station

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