Gully Sponsorship 2008

Dieter Mennekes (German Business man and environmentalist)

Dieter Mennekes is an engineer and entrepreneur from Germany. Mr. Mennekes has funded many environmental projects including Dr. Colin Hudson’s Future Centre Trust. He gives a significant portion of his assets to the protection of the environment and the promotion of health. He started the Environmental Foundation in 1999 in the municipality in the Sauerland Kirchhundem (Kreis Olpe). It is politically independent and has four priorities:

• Conservation
• Village Life
• Gifted
• Action against smoking

Mr. Mennekes funding at Welchman Hall Gully was used mainly for:

An outdoor Classroom

This gazebo is used for environmental education and in the summer of 2009, the first Back to Nature summer camp was held with 10 campers.

Native Plant Nursery

The native plant nursery will house native plants collected from all over Barbados. The plants will be replanted in the gully as in situ conservation. Since Barbados natural landscape is slowly being destroyed and our rare and native plants are found in a few locations through the island, establishing a Biodiversity/Education Centre for all Barbados is vital.