The term “spruce up” is on everyone’s lips, thanks to the effort of Minister Ed Bartlett to make Jamaica ready for the start of the winter season, our top income-earning period in the tourism sector. The Tourism Enhancement Fund sponsored the drive to make our resort areas shine and - combined with broad-based volunteer effort - it has had wonderful results.

But we must ask ourselves: “Would it be necessary to exert so much of our energy and  resources if we had better environmental management standards and practices?"

It certainly could not possibly be lost on people who live and work in our resort areas that there’s a direct correlation between the attractiveness of the environment and our ability to encourage visitors to enjoy and explore our communities. Everyone wants a bigger slice of the tourism pie, it seems, but too many of us are prepared to leave the responsibilities to others. Mostly, “others” translates into “Government”.

Jamaica is naturally beautiful and needs little help to be impressive. Its our communities that often let us down. True, there are long-term problems that can only be addressed by Government, but the citizens, corporate and individual can play a bigger and more useful role.

Here's my own list of ideas of ways we can help keep Jamaica looking good:

• Proper disposal of garbage. Certainly more environmentally sensitive methods can be applied: recycling of metal, glass and paper and composting of degradable materials
• Adopting low-maintenance landscaping practices. we tend to create work for ourselves that we have do intention of doing, when we plant high maintenance gardens at roundabouts, etc. I propose the use of rock gardens, cacti, etc. instead. 
• The use of bougainvillea to improve naked cliff faces along stretches of the new highway. Cascading bougainvillea is a very impressive sight. the plant grows very swiftly and is not well suited for hedges, etc unless one is prepared for constant trimming. The spectacular flowers appear only on the newly grown limbs, so constant pruning is necessary at ground level. left to cascade from a height, however, it can be left to run riot and do so in vibrant colour.
• Enlist school children in annual environmental maintenance exercises. Typical projects could include: Painting of litter bins (empty barrels and drums donated by the industrial sector), planting of flowering trees (Pouis, Poinciana, Jacaranda, Poor Man's Orchid, etc.) using saplings raised and distributed by TPDCO.
• A sustained effort to rid our communities of illegal billboards and the promulgation of guidelines, standards and regulations governing outdoor advertising. Frankly, if I had my 'druthers, I'd see a plan in which all outdoor advertising was contained to very specific urban areas. For example, while I think that a billboard is an imposition and an eyesore when plunked in the between the viewer and Jamaica's magnificent scenery, I accept that advertising, particularly lit and animated boards can enliven a major intersection, such as the currently drab Cross Roads or Halfway Tree.
• The adoption of verges, roundabouts and other public spaces by business houses. This already is taking place on a limited scale, but in some cases the sponsors of such efforts take back their pounds of flesh withy another type of litter: advertisements. I accept that credit is due and they are entitled to take it, but a massive billboard to take credit for maintaining a small piece of greenery that will enhance the appearance of your business environment is a bit much. Try to exercise restraint and keep your "This space maintained by...." signs to a reasonable size, so as not to off-set the good work you did with the grass.

These are just a few ideas that I throw out for discussion. Hopefully some reader will respond and add a few more and hopefully these ideas will find more general acceptance and at sometime go into practice.