A serene lake with a few of Guyana’s national flower, the Victoria Regia lily floating on the surface forming a picturesque scene in the Botanical Gardens is expected to become another attraction in the famous gardens, as this area, dubbed the Schomburgk Pavilion, officially opened yesterday.
The opening was the culmination of two years of work and the area is named after the famous brothers, who explored Guyana’s interior and made major contributions to studies of the country’s biodiversity. The project, which cost $2.2M was undertaken by the National Parks Commission (NPC) and funded by Sven Ullrich, a German pharmacist and regular visitor to Guyana.
The work included dredging of a large existing pond and the planting of Guyana’s national flower. Benches surround a portion of the pond and a new bridge was also constructed. The NPC, in a statement said that Ullrich, upon hearing of the plan immediately became interested in providing the required funding. “By funding this excellent plan to establish a Schomburgk Pavilion and Pond in the Botanic Gardens, I express my feelings for Guyana. Schomburgk came from the small village of Freybury not far from Dresden where I live. He loved Guyana like I do.
He brought the Giant Water Lily to Europe to show it to the Europeans. With my contribution, the lily will be on display for the people of Georgetown in a nice environment. Thus I feel the ties between the past and present, as well as between Guyana and Germany have been reaffirmed”, Ullrich was quoted as saying.
Speaking at yesterday’s ceremony, General Manager of the NPC, Yolanda Vasconcellos noted that the area was one of Guyana’s most visited and expressed hope that it would be an educational site as well as one where tourists are attracted.
Meantime, NPC Chairman, John Caesar, paid tribute to Robert Schomburgk and described him as “a very great man”. He stated that the project was an important contribution to the national tourism strategy and he hoped that Guyanese would support it. Ullrich meanwhile thanked everyone who worked on the project while stating that it was very important for Guyanese to keep the natural beauty of Guyana as much as possible.
More of Guyana’s national flower is expected to be planted in the lake. The Victoria Regia was discovered in the 1840’s by Robert Schomburgk close to the source of the Berbice River. Robert along with his brother Richard Schomburgk conducted expeditions into the interior of the then British Guiana on behalf of the Royal Geographical Society.
The two brothers were naturalists, who also studied astronomy, botany, geography and zoology among other sciences.
Historically they are recognized as major contributors to studies of Guyana’s biodiversity.
