Creating and interacting with art that reflects the natural world can strengthen our relationship to nature and inspire us to take action. WIRRED recognizes environmental education through art and design as a form of experiential learning that aims to develop understanding, care, and responsibility for our planet.
Through the use of various art forms, WIRRED is creating a space to observe and facilitate conversation around nature, design, science, and technology while honoring the traditions of the space we inhabit.
GOALS
Engaging and encouraging our community through art and creation
Empowering developing identities as positive environmental changemakers
Promoting conservation and regeneration of our natural environment
The Walkers Reserve landscape is extremely complex, with over 300 acres of land rising majestically from the northeastern shore of Barbados. Sand dunes, sandstone cliffs, forest, clay hills, ponds, wetlands, and so much more fill this vibrant ecosystem.
From 1968 to 2009, this land was known as Walkers Quarry. It was essential to national growth for its unique geological silica sand resource. Nearly every building in Barbados is constructed, in part, from Walkers Quarry sand. Despite the massive outputs necessary to build a nation, Walkers Quarry managed to steward and protect one of the largest native beachside forests on the island.
WIRRED is transitioning and transforming Walkers Quarry into Walkers Reserve right before our eyes. Through the hard work and knowledge of local and international experts coupled with the goodwill of the community and stakeholders, this area that was once mined to build Barbados is now being sculpted, planted, and regenerated to increase biodiversity and co-create self sustaining ecosystems.
WIRRED is dedicated to inspiring and teaching other extraction-oriented businesses around the world how to develop regenerative post-extraction models that benefit local communities and the environment by restoring such areas back to ecological health in a similar fashion to the pioneering work of Walkers Quarry.
GOALS
ENVIRONMENTAL
Return extracted areas to ecological health
Mitigate negative environmental impacts created by extraction practices
Provide habitat to threatened, endangered, and endemic species
Conserve and restore the last remaining dune system of its size in Barbados
Create a gene bank for the island of Barbados of rare and useful plants
COMMUNITY
Cultivate mixed-use regenerative agriculture and forestry on site providing food, fibre, medicine, and livelihood
Inspire ecological and agricultural tourism for the National Park system, Scotland District and Barbados
Shape meaningful livelihood opportunities for St. Andrew and neighbouring parish residents
Support farmers, organizations and individuals with permaculture training and skills
GLOBAL
Prove regenerative economic models are viable alternatives as post-extraction
Engage meaningful education and research with local and international institutions
Stabilize the climate through reforestation and regenerative land use
Inspire others in similar industry toward truly regenerative restoration goals
The One Tree for Every Bajan Program offers Bajan’s an opportunity to help improve their environment, build habitat, increase biodiversity, sequester carbon and build climate resilience.
By partnering with One Tree for Every Bajan, you show your support for the many people in your community working to build a better tomorrow.
Through the One Tree for Every Bajan program, launched in January 2019, we’ve made a commitment to engage communities to co-create a better future for people and the planet.
Are you already planting trees? Do you have plans to plant trees? You can join the movement by tagging and using our hashtags and in turn, we can promote you as a One Tree Hero on our media platforms. Tell us how many trees you have planted, and we can add it to our goal of 285,000 trees and the national goal of 1 million. Every tree counts!
Planting One Tree for Every Bajan — 285,000 Trees — is no small feat. We need to get everyone on board in creating a movement where Bajans and all who visit our island’s shores are excited and enthusiastic to plant trees and build a better Barbados for all.
#1TREE1BAJAN
Learn more about the movement through our downloadable brochures.
We invite you to participate in our newest program, WIRRED’s LIVE Living Room Sessions. These sessions were initially designed in response to the challenging and highly volatile COVID-19 landscape. The format of the program allowed us to pivot but remain focused and flexible in meeting our education mandate.
In collaboration with our education partner, the Caribbean Permaculture Research Institute (CPRI) Barbados and powered by the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB), WIRRED hosted “LIVE Living Room Sessions” on StreamYard via our respective Facebook and YouTube platforms. These 1-hour interactive sessions were free of charge to participants and are currently available for viewing on WIRRED’s YouTube Channel and Facebook page.
Episodes centered around the topics of Regenerative Agriculture, Climate Change, Mitigation, Resilience Building, Biodiversity, and Renewable Energy.
STAY TUNED
WIRRED’s LIVE Living Room Sessions will continue to be a platform for local and international thought leaders, as well as, the voice of the community. Our goal is to introduce regenerative concepts as they apply to a variety of stakeholders, facilitate dialogue, and increase awareness towards regenerative agriculture, renewable energy, building climate resilience, and so much more.
Come help us celebrate this space as we continue to bring Special Edition episodes of WIRRED’s LIVE Living Room Sessions in the coming months.
https://youtu.be/TFQK78nvXAYhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxtSuugZeZw&t=4shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Epw0agCSqsEhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cfRIzjq-Ws&t=913shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9fFK1_vQJkhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1XEzj2jSwAhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llvw9a2RvZkhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGvMu3pan9ohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tHtbk2LgG0https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yL2FcEeH6hchttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-44eY_Ii0khttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fj6LqhQhab8&t=45shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XXOfeBxKY8https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AJtnw_NgAk&t=12shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCSaNREoV-c&t=12shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3YOov__24Q&t=1shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7Q7X7_E76w&t=2shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iRDI__fbx0&t=123shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TA6yg-_6hfUhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-dmerbbsMA&t=1shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUmQTthA11Uhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpSRuRLF2m8&t=1414shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQTh4m1SRrY&t=1050shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKdbiycLGZ4&t=923shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Db2Sj3xkySE&t=252shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvIIMr8XU_Yhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6sHWHpMABU&t=1970shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMKny1–deY&t=1shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5E3IJH4r9Mhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWUKsE5Fb3k&t=734shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-iy3LkZ9_Q&t=939shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZ1NzCPFyiU&t=1387s
LIKE WIRRED ON FACEBOOK
