The St. Croix Environmental Information
Repository project was developed for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Region 2 office to support the U.S. Virgin Islands Environmental Information Management and
Outreach Initiative for St. Croix. The Initiative's goals were to increase community awareness and knowledge about environmental
issues on St. Croix, and to encourage stakeholder participation during applied decision-making processes.
The Virgin Islands Resource Conservation & Development Council, Inc. (VI RC&D), in partnership with the St. Croix Environmental Association (SEA), the UVI Conservation Data Center (CDC) and the UVI Cooperative Extension Service (CES), developed the St. Croix Environmental Information Repository project to address these identified needs.
The St. Croix Environmental Information Repository's goals are to:
- Increase environmental awareness on St. Croix;
- Identify the communities’ environmental concerns; and
- Establish a repository of environmental information specifically related to St. Croix
that is accessible to all residents, researchers and visitors.
The St. Croix Environmental Information Repository is a compilation of reports, maps, educational materials and other environmental information related to St. Croix solicited from the partner organizations, local and federal government agencies (DPNR, EPA, etc.) and research institutions. The Repository is physically located at the Cooperative Extension Service (CES) Natural Resources office on the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) St. Croix West Campus. Most of the Repository information is or will be digitized to reside on a web-based database for easy access from off-site.
The Repository database is searchable by topic and location (Estate) through this website. The physical Repository allows those who do not have easy access to computers to make use of Repository information during UVI-CES office hours. The website will be available at all times to residents as well as potential visitors, researchers and those who are physically unable to visit the University.
The project partners are promoting the St. Croix Environmental Information Repository via local media, newsletter articles and town meetings. This public participation phase is being conducted to advertise the Repository and inform the public as to the types of information available and how that information can be accessed and used. Additionally, the public was also involved in the collection process through random surveys to identify environmental issues of concern for partners to focus their information collection.
For more information
about the project, contact the VI RC&D
offices at (340) 692-9632 x.5 or vircd@usvircd.org, or Olasee Davis,
UVI-CES Natural Resources Specialist, at (340) 692-4053 or
odavis@uvi.edu. You can also leave a
message at the St. Croix Environmental Information Repository at (340) 692-4059 or stxenviroinfo@usvircd.org.
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Beautiful Annaly Bay, on the undeveloped north shore of St. Croix.
![UVI-CES St. Croix West Campus office and Repository Library home [photo courtesy of VIRC&D].](Images/STXEIRbldg.gif)
St. Croix Environmental Information Repository Library, UVI St. Croix West Campus [photo courtesy of VIRC&D].
![UVI student accesses web-based Repository information [photo courtesy of VIRC&D].](Images/STXEIR.libstudent.gif) |
