Jacqueline Ogilvie making St Mary the greatest parish

Orantes Moore, Gleaner Writer

For the past nine years, Jacqueline Ogilvie has worked as property manager at the world-famous botanical gardens in Castleton, St Mary - a destination that attracts around 60,000 visitors each year.

Castleton Botanical Gardens was established in 1862 and comprises one of the world's largest collections of exotic plants, more than 15 acres of lush vegetation, woodlands, and the stunning Wag Water River.

Ogilvie told Rural Xpress: "The river is very special because of the huge rocks and beautiful water. It rarely runs dry and has parts where you can swim and others that are like a Jacuzzi.

"For me, working here is great because I have a love for nature, plants, and people. It's nice when tourists and locals tell you how lovely the place is. It gives me a great sense of fulfilment to know that people appreciate the work we do."

Learning experience

Ogilvie developed a passion for botany in her teens, and after graduating from high school, attended Elim Agricultural School in St Elizabeth and completed training courses with organisations such as the HEART Trust and the Management Institute for National Development.

However, her greatest learning experience came through an educational trip overseas. She said: "In 2011, the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) sent me on an agricultural course in China.

"That was very interesting because they are more advanced in terms of technology, so that gave me a wider scope to look at what we do.

"It was frustrating coming back from China and not having the resources to implement everything I'd learned, but it was a great experience and one that I really appreciate."

Despite operating with limited funds and supplies, Ogilvie and her staff still manage to deliver first-class service and cater for a wide variety of visitors.

"The garden attracts over 100 visitors a day during the week, more at weekends, and 2,000 or more on public holidays," she said.

"Lots of different people visit Castleton - families who come for picnics, schools, and researchers. We also host weddings, church services, and an annual World Earth Day Exposition in May.

"Last year's expo was a great success. Schools from Kingston and St Mary attended and organisations such as the 4-H Clubs and the Rural Agricultural Development Authority took part."

Ogilvie is grateful for the contributions the gardens have received over the past decade, including benches, tree labels, fencing, and gazebos, saying that her job would be much harder without them.

She said, "The MoA has a budget for us and does everything it can to ensure the staff is paid, but there are lots of people and organisations who really go out of their way to assist us in refurbishing the gardens, and we're very appreciative and grateful to them."

Ogilvie credits her staff with helping to maintain Castleton at a high standard and would like to help them develop additional skills and abilities. She said: "I'd love to send them on agricultural and customer service training courses because they are necessary aspects of the work we do.

"It would be great if the MoA put more resources into the gardens and cut some of the red tape because it would help us improve and do more work."

Castleton is one of St Mary's best-known landmarks and boasts a diverse collection of rare fruit trees, including mangosteen, velvet apple, rambutan, wampee, and more than 50 varieties of palm.

Ogilvie was born in the parish's capital, Port Maria, and believes the gardens are just one example of St Mary's many unique attributes.

She said: "People say St Mary is the poorest parish, but if people believe that, everyone will leave and there will be no one left to build the parish.

"I believe that myth will quickly disappear if we work together and put more effort into rebuilding. If we do this, we can make St Mary the greatest of all Jamaica's 14 parishes."

rural@gleanerjm.com