Civil Municipal Magazine - Dec 2023

234 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 4, ISSUE 12 home to several protected species. The south coast is also made up of picturesque beaches like Farquhar, Welcome and Jackson Bay. Plans for a Heritage Trail with storyboards identifying the numerous heritage sites and historic buildings in that part of the parish are also in the works. Another potential opportunity would be rafting along the Salt River, taking advantage of an underutilized resource. Mayor Maragh shares, “The Salt River has been there idle. Monymusk Sugar Factory used to get irrigation water from it for the cane field, but since the cane field is down, there’s no activity and no water being pulled from it again. So, what we’re planning to do is clean that out and have boat rides. We can teach people about the area, the environment and all of that. We have a Caribbean Coastal Area Management foundation that manages that area environmentally. If you take a boat ride, they can teach you about the mangroves, the coastline, and a lot of things.” Community Outreach and Partnerships Clarendon remains committed to community engagement, as Blake outlines, “We have a strategy where we have regular town hall meetings, to get closer to the people so they understand exactly what we do. We also do a lot of public education in schools, especially our Disaster Preparedness Coordinator, who goes into schools weekly, to speak to students. We use the social media platforms, and town hall meetings, but we also use traditional media.” Shanique Samuels, Public Relations Officer at the Clarendon Municipal Corporation talks about another impactful project in the parish, aimed at helping women who have been victims of domestic violence. “The Spotlight Initiative in Jamaica, is a united effort to eliminate violence against women & girls. It is implemented by UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF and UN Women,” she elaborates. “Through Spotlight’s financial support, we executed a woman and girls empowerment project through the Municipal Corporation. Women and girls were given training in business initiatives, they were encouraged and empowered to go out and be on their own, where they will