As a child growing up, ferns burrowed our veranda, so I guess it was natural that my mother’s love was transferred to me.  However, ferns are not just decorative they are biofertilizer that helps with restoring the health of soil as well as preventing erosions and creating habitats for birds and other wild life. If you come to my yard, you will see ferns everywhere.

When I was about eight years old, my mother bought herself a car, a blue Ford Anglia, taught herself to drive, and got her license. I accompanied her on many of her self-taught lessons, so when she passed the driver’s licence exam on the first go-around, I celebrated her victory by jumping up and down and hugging her around the neck. Many of the men in the community had said she would not pass, but my mother had plans and did not take on any of those men, determined to be independent.

Thereafter, at least once a month, she would drive us from Caymanas Estate, St Catherine to Montego Bay, St James (literally across the island) to visit her sister and other relatives, and we would also go to Jericho to see our grandmother. In those early days, just after independence, my mother was one of the few female drivers on the road, and when men on the road tried to race her, she showed her skills, much to the amazement of many of them.

Naturally, at that time, there was no freeway. We drove Flat Bridge, then through Fern Gully, which became one of my favourite places. I loved the lush dampness and always thought of it as a womb, nature’s best shelter. My mother, too, loved ferns and Fern Gully, and a hush would descend inside the car as we drove through the three-mile stretch, which my mother said had the most varied species of fern anywhere in the world, reportedly 300 different types

I have to confess that my mother often stopped and snipped pieces she did not possess. The earthy smell, the artists selling crafts, the womb-like enclosure and luxuriance have made a lasting impression. So when I had children, I made sure to drive them through Fern Gully. However, the erection of the highway cuts off and bypassed that extravagant beauty,  so I have not driven through in a long time, until last week.

Although still magical, Fern Gully is not so lush as before and I seriously doubt the different species of fern left. From Hurricane Melissa, trees have fallen, but what is sadly clear is that the government has not ensured the preservation of the beauty of this place, which should be a world heritage site, a tourist destination, and a field-trip excursion for students to learn about the value and uses of fern. Fern Gully is a historical and ecological site that should be preserved for us as a safeguard against soil erosion and a habitat to birds and other wild life.

Many might not know that ferns serve many purpose and are extracted for lotion and baths. There has been and continues to be extensive research being done, and herbalist recommends ferns both internally as tea for cough and fevers and for external uses to treat skin diseases such as itching, rashes and even eczema.

However, my recent visit was prompted by an article I saw by photographer and archivist Donnette Zacca, discussing the wall sculptures of Arthur Alexander, who is now dead, having disappeared a few years ago. I did not remember those carvings, and I wanted to see if they still existed, and they do!

Almost at the end of Fern Gully, before you enter Ocho Rios, on the left-hand side, are the sculptures carved into the rock by a man known as Arthur Alexander. These sculptures are fading, but they are still there, and an effort should be made to preserve them and a plaque placed in his honour.

No one seems to know what happened to Alexander, but I am simply thankful for this man and the tremendous work that he has left as his legacy, doing what humans have always done across time: carving into rocks, giving shape to what is available, leaving an indelible mark.

I invite travellers and motorists to skip the highway and head to Ocho Rios via Fern Gully. Observe the ferns, and you will notice that your breathing slows, you feel more relaxed, and your heart begins to smile. Stop towards the end of the gully; there is a safe place for cars to pull over. Inhale. Extend your arms.  Look up! Observe keenly and notice how many different species of fern you detect. Stand there for a while and relish the sight, the sounds, the smell, and look closely at Arthur Alexander’s amazing facial sculptures.

Really look at these faces carved into stone. He was not commissioned. He was not paid. He was an artist, working from instinct, from vision, from something deeper. And he did this on his own. I want to remember him. To immortalize him. To thank him for showing us that art, in all its forms, is a testament to who we are, what we are, and what we are capable of.

I appeal to Minister Grange, of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, to preserve and protect, and to apply whatever care-treatment or facing is needed so that these carvings do not disappear. Also, let’s restore Fern Gully to a national site that can still boast 300 different species of fern.

Long live and Bless Up Fern Gully and Arthur Alexander.