Above: the Botanical Gardens in Grenada

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Grenada will be renaming its Botanical Gardens after the country’s first Prime Minister, Sir Eric Matthew Gairy, according to the government.

Social Development Minister Delma Thomas said a team would soon begin upgrades to the gardens as part of the project.

“We will have a group of volunteers, international volunteers, who will be joining our local persons, students from TAMCC, in helping to revitalize the whole area to make it an attractive site as we recognize the tremendous contribution that Sir Eric Mathew Gairy made to Grenada,” Thomas said following a Cabinet briefing on Tuesday.

In a statement, the government said the renaming was part of a government initiative to honour Gairy.

“Our father of independence, he was our first prime Minister and he has done a lot for our country and we must recognize what he has done,” Thomas said.

Gairy served as Prime Minister of Grenada from 1974 until 1979, when he was overthrown by a coup.