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Located deep in Cockpit Country (see video), which is both the highest-ranked Biodiversity Hotspot in the Caribbean and the largest tract of wet limestone forest remaining on Jamaica, Windsor’s unique location attracts local and overseas researchers in the natural and social sciences. WRC evolved from the vision of founding director, Michael Schwartz (1947-2018), who recognised that much of the information about Cockpit Country was not available on-site and, consequently, was not available to the communities nor to conservation planners and natural resource managers. Mike's partner and co-founding director, Dr. Susan Koenig, continues to maintain the heritage.
Within the framework of the recognised vital ecosystem services of Cockpit Country, particularly as the watershed for central-west Jamaica and as an important reservoir of endemic biodiversity, and in keeping with repeated calls for remote field stations, WRC was established to promote, facilitate, monitor and centralise research associated with the Cockpit Country.
This maintains the research link, which historically has been associated with the area from at least the 1860s, when the geologist James Sawkins described the geo-morphology of (and miserable exertion required to transit . . . .) and the forest of the Cockpits*, as he saw them from "Windsor Pen / Windsor Pen Great House". Then into 1920 when Harold E. Anthony (mammologist at American Museum of Natural History, NY) visited Windsor and was the first to discover fossilized non-humnan primate bones in a shelter cave north of the house. And through the ownership of the house during the 1950s by world-reknowned flea expert, Dame Miriam Rothschild.
*For reference, it's worth noting that, while Sawkins appended the noun "country" to "Cockpit", he wasn't giving the area the proper noun name "Cockpit Country." Like others up-through the early 1900s, including map makers, Sawkins recoginized "the Cockpit" and "the Cockpits" as the formal name for the landscape, and used the noun "country" interchangeably with "land" (e.g,. he wrote that from Windsor Pen Great House "It is here the Cockpit country commences" (note his lower case c for "country") but a few pages later he wrote that the area south of Windsor Pen to St. Elizabeth and Westmoreland "is considered as the western Cockpit land". And in the next paragraph on the same page he referred to the "windward Cockpits" from the Alps going eastwards to St. Ann parish). LoL, you see what archiving geeks we are, wanting to make sure all historic details are correctly known! We just can't help ourselves!!
| Mission Statement
The mission of the WRC is to promote research in the Natural Sciences with particular reference to the conservation of Cockpit Country; to act as a repository for this research; to disseminate information to ensure the best-possible protection and management of Cockpit Country. |
To achieve its mission, WRC develops collaborations with local and international institutions, departments of Government, NGO’s, community-based organisations, and private individuals. These collaborations enable WRC (again, that's Susan flying solo now!) to develop quality research projects, which improve the knowledge base of Cockpit Country. I leverage these projects as a mechanism for training and improving skills of local field assistants, students, fellow researchers, and natural resource managers. The institutional development associated with these projects enables me to improve infrastructure capacity - - tho' we never cracked that hard nut of poor mobile phone and internet service: I still occasionally have to drive 5 km and park in the local football pitch, with laptop and USB modem wedged in behind the steering wheel, to access the internet, send email, and maintain this website . . . so bear with me if I don't respond to your email within minutes!
It is through positive leveraging feedbacks that I'm able to continue meeting the requests of our users: local communities, resident and overseas Jamaicans, researchers, resource managers, and all stakeholders supporting conservation.
WRC Goals:
- To provide logistic support for visitors, including lodging, on-site reference documentation, and local information packages (including maps, historical data; etc); to supply baseline meteorological info.
- to maintain a pool of local expertise to assist
visitors
- To assist in liaison between researchers and institutions such as NEPA (formerly NRCA) and Forestry Dept.
- To facilitate future research by improving existing species inventories and the natural histories of flora and fauna
- To apply academic knowledge and research to socio-economic development by demonstrating sustainable practices in the local environment
- To promote conservation (most notably by eliminating the threat of bauxite mining!) by dissemination of the results of research to all levels of society, including presentations at the appropriate level for interests and communities associated with the Cockpit Country
(See also Articles of Association and Memorandum of Association) I value your feedback and comments: