Dominica Academy of Arts & Sciences Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Internship Successfully Concluded June 25, 2010: Washington, D.C. - It is a bright Friday afternoon, with thousands of tourist thronging the many museums on the National Mall between the Capitol Building and the Washington Monument. Deep within the stacks of 125 million herbarium samples, including 5,000 from the Commonwealth of Dominica , two Dominican students and one Professor from the Dominica State College
listen intently as Dr. Clayton Shillingford, DAAS President proudly relates the genesis of this new collaborative between the Smithsonian Institution and Dominica. He speaks of the tenth anniversary of the Dominica Academy of Arts and Sciences launched in 2000 to unite the skills of Dominicans at home and abroad for development. He relates his interaction with Smithsonian researchers from the 1960s who have written several books on the unique flora and fauna of Dominica. He extols the virtue of _Dr. Robert De Fillips_ (http://da-academy.org/defilipps.html) , former Smithsonian botanist who collaborated with the DAAS and at his passing his overseas properties were bequethed by his brother Willard De Filipps to DAAS for Dominican youth and plant science development. Dr. Kress, Chairman of the Department of Botany delivers the Smithsonian's own tribute to the Dominica State College Professor Edgar Hunter and students Kelva David and Shawn Francis who spent time assisting in research and learning the science of herbarium cataloging with the Dominican collections. They are the first DAAS/Smithsonian interns in natural history. He considered them to have been diligent and dynamic; something which augurs well for the future of the collaboration. Certificates of participation were awarded to the Dominica State College interns by Dr. Shillingford. He also awarded a Certificate of Appreciation to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History for its support and Dr. Fontaine for hosting the Dominica delegation. L-R:Drs. Thomson Fontaine & Clayton Shillingford, Kelda David & Shawn Francis (DSC Students), Ida Lopez (Smith. Inst.) and Prof. Edgar Hunter (DSC) In conclusion, DAAS Vice President, Gabriel Christian stressed the importance of developing Dominica's competence in plant science and the efforts to revive the agriculture sector. At that point the consensus was the program would be expanded next year. Professor Hunter committed the State College attendees to work for a herbarium on island and deepening of relations with the DAAS. L-R:Gabriel Christian and Drs Kress & Shillingford examaning a herbarium specimen from Dominica Refreshments with a Caribbean culinary fare rounded out the program. And as the summer sun dipped below the Washington, DC skyline the Dominican nation builders remarked on the skills learnt and relished the pleasant memories of this first internship program at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. In the words of Shawn Francis "we intend to implement all that we have learnt, for the betterment of Dominica."
