Guyana Botanical Gardens Explained

Guyana Botanical Gardens
Alt Name:	Georgetown Botanical Gardens
Type:	Urban park
Location:	Georgetown, Guyana
Created:	late 19th century

Guyana Botanical Gardens is a tropical botanical garden in Georgetown, Guyana. It is next to the Guyana Zoo and Castellani House.

Description

It includes the Seven Ponds (the Place of Heroes), which is the burial sites of

• • Governor General David Rose President Desmond Hoyte
• President Arthur Chung
• poet Martin Carter

• in a separate nearby mausoleum: Prime Minister Forbes Burnham

Near the zoo (but outside of it), there are docile manatees in a pond.^[1] The first manatees were placed in the gardens in the 1870s.^[2] More captive manatees are at the National Park.

History

It was founded in the late 19th century, during the time of British Guiana, on an abandoned sugar estate, Plantation Vlissengen. At the time, it was at the eastern end of the city limits. An early garden superintendent was botanist George Samuel Jenman.^[3]

Environs

South of the gardens, across Homestretch Avenue is D’Urban Park, which includes the National Cultural Centre.It is bound by Vlissengen Road to the west, across which is Georgetown Football Club.It is a few blocks south of the National Park.

The other public garden in Georgetown is the smaller Promenade Gardens downtown.^[3]

See also

• Bourda Cemetery: also built on Plantation Vlissengen (now separated by several blocks)

Notes and References

1. Book: Advisory Committee on Marine Resources Research . Mammals in the Seas. 1976. FAO. 18. Sirenians in captivity, especially manatees such as those in the Botanic Gardens in Georgetown, Guyana, can become quiet docile and may be attracted by audible signals. This may contribute to the education and understanding of tourists.
2. News: Abary Creek manatees under threat . Stabroek News . 30 September 2008 . there are 23 manatees [...] between the Botanical Gardens and the National Park. They have been there for more than 129 years [since {{circa|1879}}], and reports are that they came from the Abary Creek..
3. Book: Lennox J. Hernández . etal . Historical Georgetown. 2004. Sheik Hassan Productions. 978-976-95075-5-5. 24. The Botanical Gardens, at the eastern end of the old city limits, is the larger of the two public gardens in Georgetown [the other being [[Promenade Gardens]]]. The garden is located on part of the old Plantation Vlissengen (an abandoned sugar estate).