Two great reasons to celebrate
I couldn’t pass up the chance to blog about something exciting we have to celebrate here on St Croix… afterall the blog is called “Celebrate St Croix”! And actually we have two great things to celebrate today.
The first is something that’s near and dear to my heart (I’ve done some volunteer work with sea turtle conservation) – the release of a rehabilitated hawksbill sea turtle who was injured last year at one my favorite beaches – Sandy Point. Sandy Point Wildlife refuge is one of the few truly pristine beaches left in the Caribbean. It is only open from 10am to 4pm Saturday and Sunday from roughly October through the end of April. Why, you ask… Well, because it is critical nesting habitat for the endangered leatherback sea turtle and heavily used for nesting by our local hawksbills and greens too. It seems that this unlucky girl was minding her own business, laying her eggs in the sand when she was happened upon by a group of feral dogs. Sadly, her front flippers were so mauled that eventually one had to be amputated.
A group of volunteers aid in the release of a rehabilitated sea turtle on St Croix
However, the wonderful biologists of US Fish & Wildlife that monitor the wildlife refuge found her, brought her to local veterinarian Paul Hess at Island Animal Clinic, who stabilized her, and then they enlisted the help of The Turtle Hospital, a non-profit institution on Marathon Key where she spent a year gaining strength and rehabilitating. Yesterday, with the help of American Airlines, who donated her flights both ways, and the many friends she has gained along the way – our little sweetie was returned to her native St Croix and released into the waters of Sandy Point. A success story made possible by kind people who volunteered time and resources to do the right thing in our community – a true reason to celebrate! For more information read the full article here
Another thing that Crucians are celebrating today is the passing of legislation to ensure that Cruzan Rum stays here on St Croix. Cruzan Rum has been produced on the island of St Croix for over 200 years by the Nelthropp family. While they don’t own the brand anymore – they still run the plant and make the run that not only becomes Cruzan Rum, but also the base rum for many other brands as well. In fact, only 25% of the rum they produce is branded as Cruzan - the rest is sold as “bulk rum” and is used as the base of other rum products. Its that good. Recently, our government entered into a 30-year deal that was the driving factor in bringing a new state-of-the-art plant to produce rival Captain Morgan rum to St Croix. Last night, the legislature passed a similar bill that gives a similar 30-year deal providing bonds backed by rum tax rebate monies. It also allows for the development of the plant and to bring it up to EPA standards. (It had been grandfathered out of certain requirements in the past which effectively had allowed it to release untreated effluent into local waters). So, I’m celebrating the fact that Cruzan will remain Crucian… and they are going to clean up their act in the process!
Celebrating Earth Week: Tips for a Greener Wedding
… Below is a reprinting of my blog entry from April 21st 2009, due to a technical difficulty, past blog entries were deleted. But this one was worth reprinting!!
An eco-tourism paradise: St Croix has plenty of green!
In honoring Earth Week 2009, here are a few of the ways that we at SunCelebrations are committed to keeping our island and our earth a little more green, as well as some tips for you to “green up” your wedding!
- In our office, we print as little as possible. As most of our clients are far away – we do most all of our planning via email and the internet – we are able to keep the majority of our correspondence and files electronic. Our Service Guides and portfolio are electronic pdf files and we use MS Outlook and OneNote to keep it all organized.
- When we do need to print – we use recycled paper – including really cool Banana Paper – and we print on both sides.
- For faxing, we use efax.com services. Again, keeping our files electronic. We can “fax” documents right out of our email and receive faxes as pdfs. These are kept in electronic folders on the main computer and are only printed if necessary.
- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle is truly our motto! We repurpose decorator items for weddings. This also saves costs for our brides (reduces shipping costs when things are already here!). All of our weddings are unique, so we look at new and different ways to use items. For instance, most of our vases can also be used as candle holders!
- Speaking of candles… we have been investing in LED “votives” to rent to clients. These are an excellent alternative to traditional candles for a couple of reasons. Candles are typically made of petroleum products (unless you are purchasing “greener” beeswax or soy which are a little more costly), they also tend to blow out at outdoor venues. Today’s LED candles stay lit (for up to 48hrs) and are so lifelike they even flicker. LED lights use 1/10th of the power of incandescant lights, come in fun colors and are convenient to use at outdoor venues that may lack outlets. By renting LED candles, you can also avoid shipping costs. We even recycle the spent batteries! To purchase LED candles for your wedding visit:
100 Candles.com – Candles, Candle Holders, Soy Candles and more! - Gift bags are super popular with destination brides. It’s a nice way to say “thank you for travelling so far to celebrate with us” … we encourage our brides to purchase reusable shopping bags for their gift bags! They come in lots of fun colors, are very inexpensive and promote the use of reusable shopping bags. We love www.papermart.com They make great beach bags too!
- Buy local!!! For gift bags and other items, we encourage our brides to purchase from local vendors on St Croix. Again, being eco-savvy also means being economical. Buying local avoids a lot of shipping costs for our clients. It’s also a nice way to promote our local economy and to offer a keepsake or memento of the islands.
- Use Local flowers. We work with a very talented local florist, Gloria Powell of www.antilleslilies.com She is an expert at using local flora for weddings! She is versed on what is blooming at different times of the year and incorporates them into the flowers along with the color scheme and bride’s style. It can get very pricey shipping flowers here (they have to be flown in) – so this is a fantastic way to save some money and also get a really unique bouquet or arrangement. My brides are always thrilled with her artistry.
- Promote local farmers. Local produce simply tastes better and is better for you! We have recently teamed up with the chef at the VI Sustainable Farm Institute www.visfi.org – an ICO and USDA certified organic farm. They have been producing monthly “Slow Food” dinners that sell out in a heartbeat and so we’ve added them to our roster of chefs for private functions. We’re so excited to be promoting not only whole, organic foods, but also great people doing GREAT things in our community.
- And lastly, if you already have your home set up and aren’t in need of another toaster – consider requesting your guests make a donation in your honor in lieu of gifts. There are so many deserving local charities on St Croix as part of your legacy, leave a positive lasting impression by offering help to those who live here. Some of the excellent charities that we support are:
- FirstBook a grassroots charity committed to literacy by providing underpriviledged children in our community with BRAND NEW reading books. Ask us about donations directly to the local St Croix Chapter.
- St Croix Animal Welfare Center supports the homeless animals on St Croix and provides humane education to local schools and the community. I have 2 shelter babies – Teleulah & Boddhi. The SCAWC works with stateside “no kill” shelters to place even more animals in loving homes. If you would like to participate in their “Pets from Paradise” program and escort a puppy or kitten to a shelter in the states, contact us for more information. The shelter in St Croix will meet you at the airport, the shelter in the states will meet you upon arrival. Its so easy!!
Boddhi
- Teleulah
