Back in 2016, I arrived in Statia, aka The Golden Rock, aka The historic gem of the Caribbean. And today the time has come to pack up the suitcase that has contained my life for the past four months and head back to Holland. Two months in Statia were over before I knew it, and admittedly also before I got round to doing everything on my list. A heavy rain storm kept me from making it all the way to Boven, I haven’t seen White wall and the plan to walk all the way from Zeelandia to the botanical garden along the cliffs is still a plan. But when it comes to Coralita, I have a much better understanding of the situation I did before, and see several ways to proceed. Since it will take some time before our research will really have an impact on Statia, I wanted to leave something behind upon leaving. Therefore Elizabeth and I made a flyer on Coralita in Statia, explaining the phenomenon and what our research aims to do. You can download the flyer here.

Next to that, Elizabeth made a map showing all the spots where she hiked last year and found Coralita, as well as where she didn’t find any. She checks those locations on satellite images to find the signature light spectrum of the vine. As you can see in this image, for the road to the Botanical garden, to the bay and around the SDA church she has already been able to identify the precise location of Coralita. She is working hard on making a map of Coralita for all of Statia.

My work focused on interviewing Statians about the value of nature to them, and their opinion on Coralita. There exist as many views as interviewees, of course, but what all interviewees have in common is a sense of pride and care for Statia’s nature. While one person thinks agriculture is most important, another might favour the diversity of the scenery. Likewise, to one person Coralita is an annoying weed, while another thinks it’s beautiful or provides tasty honey. You can see this reflected on this other map, which is the result of 46 Statians indicating the areas where they don’t want Coralita. Some people clearly focused on the parks, whereas others are mainly concerned with keeping the town free. When deciding on priority areas for Coralita management, we will have to take all these different perspectives into account.

So I am heading back to university with a suitcase filled with findings on Coralita in Saba and Statia. Several months of processing, conferring with colleagues and brainstorming about how to proceed lie ahead of me. All this set in an environment lacking volcanoes, beaches and the Caribbean warmth that I was so fortunate to enjoy for the past four months. I might even end up missing that pink creepy vine…

Two months on Saba have flown by: interviewing people, being toured around gardens, getting a peek of local politics and becoming more and more attached to the quirks of Saba's nature and people. Since it will take a long time before our research will really have an impact on Saba, I didn’t want to leave the island without leaving something behind. Therefore Elizabeth and I made a flyer on Coralita, explaining the phenomenon and what our research aims to do. You can download the flyer here.

Next to that, Elizabeth made a map showing all the spots where she hiked and found Coralita, as well as where she didn’t find Coralita. She checks those locations on satellite images to find the signature light spectrum of the vine. As you can see in this image, for St. John’s and along the Fort Bay road she has already been able to identify the precise location of Coralita.

The longer I spent talking to different people, the more complex the management of Coralita appeared to become. A weed that should be eradicated as soon as possible to some is a beautiful cover of otherwise barren areas to others. Simply one instance of invasion of a vulnerable island ecology versus the pending demise of Saba’s otherwise untouched nature. And hence just another argument for the need of an invasive species management programme versus necessitating an immediate island-wide eradication campaign. These different views show on this other map, which is the result of 50 Sabans indicating on a map areas where they don’t want Coralita. Some people clearly focussed on the trails and beautiful nature areas, whereas others are mainly concerned with keeping the villages free. When deciding on priority areas for Coralita management, we will have to take all the different perspectives into account.

But first I will be spending two months on Statia, conducting the same interviewing activities as on Saba, explained in an earlier blog. Here Coralita covers huge areas, clearly enjoying the openness and absence of use. However different the two islands appear – which their proud inhabitants are always keen on pointing out – in the eye of Coralita they’re equal: wonderful creeping grounds.

​As a good scientist, without having conducted any sort of survey or poll and instead reasoning solely from my own stereotypes and prejudices, I’m convinced that the single most dreaded question by every PhD candidate out there is “So, how’s your research going?”. Nice people are most often the villains asking these questions, and in fact, the nicest of them who really care about the answer are the worst you can come across.