The Barbados National Trust is taking a fresh approach to its 2025 Open House Season, with a focus on attracting a broader audience, especially young people.
Conceding that past schedules often conflicted with work hours and that its membership base was largely retirees, it has shifted many of the open houses to the weekend.
“We recognise that we have to engage the people who are at work,” said Denise Sandiford, operations manager. “A lot of people would not have been able to leave the workplace to get to the open houses, so this year we’ve scheduled most of them for Saturdays.”
She was speaking at the launch of the Open House Season recently at the Harry Bayley Observatory in Clapham, St Michael. The observatory facilitated a day filled with educational and interactive activities designed to captivate visitors of all ages.
Highlights included solar viewing sessions in the afternoon, where attendees had the rare opportunity to safely observe the sun through telescopes equipped with specialised filters. The excitement continued with sundial-making workshops, offering hands-on experience that blended science with creativity. As evening fell, there was planet and moon viewing, allowing patrons to marvel at celestial wonders.
Adding to the day’s uniqueness was a rare astronomical phenomenon: the moon’s conjunction with Venus, coinciding with the sun’s 11-year solar maximum. Depending on when they arrived, guests were treated to spectacular views of both, making the event not just educational but also visually breathtaking.
Sandiford also emphasised the importance of preserving the island’s architectural heritage.
“We have a number of coral stone buildings and we’re supposed to preserve our heritage and our history. Maintenance and restoration are critical for us, and it’s very costly because our buildings are coral stone. Sometimes we are not able to maintain them the way we should,” she said.
She stressed the need to secure the future of the Trust through youth engagement.
“Our membership is made up of mostly retirees. We do have some young people, but we want to engage them more so that the organisation will survive. When the older folks are gone, if you don’t have young people, the organisation won’t continue. We’re hoping to get more young people involved, joining the organisation, volunteering and so on.”
Upcoming open houses will feature historic sites like Welch’s Plantation House and Sunbury Plantation House, blending cultural heritage with engaging activities to attract a diverse audience. (DS)
