The Little Cayman District Committee of the National Trust for the Cayman Islands has bought a small parcel of land on that island containing three large mahogany trees that are hundreds of years old.
The trees are situated in the Mahogany Bay/Phosphate Park subdivision at the west end of the island.
According to a press release from the committee issued on Monday, the trees are a prominent landmark on Little Cayman and are clearly visible towering above the surrounding forest in the first aerial survey photos of that island taken in 1972.
“They are certainly in the hundreds of years old,” the release stated. “The trees have been a point of interest for decades and are included in the National Trust’s Explorer Passport for the Sister Islands.”
It added, “It remains a mystery why these trees did not fall to the axman first during the extensive logging that occurred on all three Cayman Islands in the distant past after the arrival of Europeans to the New World and then during the phosphate mining era that occurred on Little Cayman in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
“Indeed the lot itself is an old open pit phosphate mine with the excavations literally in the shade of these trees.”
Founding member of the Little Cayman District Committee and long-time resident of the island Brigitte Kassa donated the entire purchase price of US$39,000 to the National Trust.
Kassa, an author of several children’s books, settled on Little Cayman with her late husband Basil in 1973 when there were fewer than 20 inhabitants on the island.
In the release, the Trust said she had been extremely generous over the years with substantial monetary and several other land donations to the non-profit organisation.
“Her selfless volunteering and generosity stem from her desire to preserve and protect the unique flora, fauna and pristine environment of her home, Little Cayman,” the release stated.
Kassa’s latest book is her autobiography ‘From Coffee, to Champagne, to Coconuts’. All proceeds from the sale of the book also go to the Little Cayman District Committee land fund. It can be ordered from all of the online booksellers, including Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.
In the release, the Little Cayman District Committee of the Trust and the National Trust for the Cayman Islands thanked Kassa for “her selfless efforts, dedication and uncommon generosity in helping to preserve and protect the special natural environment of Little Cayman for present and future generations of Caymanians”.
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