The late Dr Kirby receives Environmental Award
Not only is he a household name, but Dr. I. Earle A. Kirby continues to pile up the accolades even after his death.{{more}} Last week Thursday evening at the Annual General Meeting of the St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) National Trust, Chair Kathy Martin announced that Dr Kirby was the recipient of the 2007 Euan P Mc Farlane Award for Outstanding Environmental Leadership in the Insular Caribbean.
The Mc Farlane award, named after an environmentalist from St Croix who died in 1983, was instituted in 1988, and is the only environmental award that is designated exclusively for residents of the insular Caribbean. The endowment establishing the award was provided by the late Laurence S Rockefeller and is administered by Island Resources Foundation, a 36-year-old Caribbean NGO dedicated to sustainable environmental planning for small island development.
Dr Kirby is the first Vincentian to receive the award and is the second person to receive it posthumously. He was nominated for the award by the National Trust of SVG. The award comes with a US $1,000 unrestricted grant to the recipient, which will go to Dr Kirbyâs widow.
In making the announcement, Kathy Martin said that the award couldnât go to a more fitting person. Although Dr Kirby was a trained Veterinarian he was more widely known for Archeology and Conservation and was instrumental in seeking legislation to have many local wildlife species protected, including the St Vincent parrot.
âDocâ, as he was fondly called, was involved with the SVG National Trust from its inception serving eight terms on the board, two of those as chair. Docâs widow Monica Kirby, who didnât speak after the announcement was made because of a throat ailment, was positively glowing.
The award will be presented later this year. However, the foundation gave permission to the SVG National Trust to make the announcement at its AGM.
In delivering the annual report, Chair Kathy Martin gave an update of the activities of the Trust for the past year, which included having legislation passed giving the Trust the power to declare National Heritage status to buildings, objects and sites. A financial report was not available as the books were being audited at the time.
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