Tourism Ministry restoring historical sites

This country’s Tourism Ministry is restoring and beautifying some of the nation’s historical sites
Work has already begun at Fort Barrington also known as Goat Hill located on the western end of Antigua in the Deep Bay Area. The Fort which was once used as a protection point for the St. John’s Harbour also served as an important signal station to alert disciplined forces throughout the island of impending attacks during the colonial era.
The on-going exercise is being done by the Agri-Toursim and Beautification Unit of the tourism ministry with assistance from inmates of Her Majesty’s Prison.
According to acting director of the Agri-Tourism and Beautification Unit, Jesse Thomas, the Fort Barrington project will be done in three phases, beginning with the clearing of debris. Clearing has already begun of Manchineel and Acacia trees that have made the hiking trail inaccessible.
The second phase will focus on establishing a stone garden along the peninsula and incorporating more species of plants such as the Frangipani that are already growing in the environment and are drought tolerant.
Thomas said because the area is mostly rocky there is not much soil for plants to naturally establish themselves, however, measures will be put in place to have plant boxes built to accommodate other species of plants that are drought tolerant for the garden.
Phase two is also expected to include restoring the cistern at the back of the fort using the original setup which was once part of the water catchment system. Another water catchment system will be established on the grounds to function as a backup water storage in the event there is need for a secondary system.
Phase three of the restoration effort will focus on reestablishing the use of the original entrance to Fort Barrington which will make accessing the fort easier for tourists as well as locals visiting the attraction.