BCD honours Kregg Nurse’s legacy with tree planting at UWI Cave Hill

The Barbados Council for the Disabled (BCD) honoured the life and legacy of Kregg Nurse with the planting of a shaddock tree at the University of the West Indies at Cave Hill.

The tree was planted outside the Faculty of Medical Sciences, across from the Department of Biological and Chemical Sciences, as part of the BCD’s 50th anniversary celebrations under the theme, “BCD 50: Honouring the Struggle, Igniting the Future”.

BCD President Patricia Padmore-Blackman said the tree would serve as a living reminder of Nurse’s resilience with muscular dystrophy and his contribution to the lives of people with disabilities.

Padmore-Blackman noted that Nurse lived at a time when disability was not as widely understood or included, but said his journey at Cave Hill demonstrated his determination to succeed as he graduated in 1997 with honours in accounting, and gained employment at Ernst and Young.

His impact continues through the Kregg Nurse Memorial Scholarship, which provides assistance and encouragement to persons with disabilities pursuing educational advancement.

Padmore-Blackman said: “Today we recognise him for who he was. Though he left us at a young age, his memory still lives on with us, and he has left a legacy in which many persons with disabilities and other individuals who benefit from the Kregg Nurse Scholarship from Caribbean Catalyst Inc.”

The scholarship and the tree were both reminders of the importance of inclusion, she said.

“Through his life, we are able to at least pattern it that others may be able to follow. So I believe that today is really a special day in the lives of all persons with disabilities, especially Barbados Council for the Disabled.”

She added: “This tree symbolises his life. And we sincerely hope that as this tree grows, that persons who use these premises, persons who recognise what is on the plot.”

For Nurse’s close friend, Human Rights Commissioner Kerryann Ifill, the occasion was an opportunity to remember a man whose resilience was evident throughout their friendship.

Ifill said the two attended school together from second form through sixth form and stressed that their friendship was not defined by their disabilities.

She said: “Kregg’s strengths, his resilience was an everyday thing for me. We were friends not because of our disability but because of Kregg’s beautiful, wicked spirit.”

Nurse was someone who did not allow perceived limitations to determine how he lived, she added. 

“He was one of those people who did not understand limitations. And so today it gives me great pleasure to stand here as a friend, as a schoolmate, as a person who loved and treasured knowing Kregg.”

Ifill recalled several personal memories of her friend, including his love of music, chess and accounting.

“There are three things that always make me think of him. Whenever I hear ‘Enjoy yourself in the mas’, ‘Last Mas’ by Rupee. Whenever I sit down to play chess, I regret that I didn’t take it up while he was alive to teach me. And I think of him whenever I have a problem with a number because I wish I had his accounting skills.”

She said UWI’s relationship with Nurse also represented a wider movement towards inclusion for all Barbadians. 

The choice of tree also carried significance.

Lecturer in the Department of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Linton Arneaud, explained that the shaddock, also known as Citrus Maxima, is the ancestor of the grapefruit and described the plant as a symbol of resilience.

“Today we plant more than a tree. We plant a living symbol of resilience and possibility.”

The tree selection was particularly fitting given Nurse’s achievements at the university, Arneaud said. 

“It is especially fitting that this tree is being planted here at the university where Mr Nurse distinguished himself as the first person with a disability to graduate with honors, earning a bachelor degree in accounting before going on to become a certified general accountant at Ernst & Young.”

He said the tree’s ability to withstand challenges mirrored the experiences of many persons with disabilities:

“The tree before us began as a tiny seed 8 years ago and flourished naturally with little water and lots of care. No commercial chemicals added. Its ability to endure and strive despite challenges mirrors the experience of many persons with disabilities who continue to overcome barriers of perseverance, courage, and determination.”

Arneaud said the tree should ultimately serve as a reminder of the importance of creating opportunities.

“As this tree grows and bears fruit in the many years to come, may it stand as a lasting reminder of Mr. Nurse’s legacy and a simple but powerful truth. When we invest in people, nurture potential, and remove barriers to opportunities, guess what? We cultivate a stronger, more inclusive, more sustainable Barbados for all.”

Speaking on behalf of the Nurse family, brother Ricky Nurse said the planting reflected the many “seeds” his brother had planted during his life recalling his brother’s determination to participate fully in social life, despite the barriers he faced.

“We’re talking about a young man who went to the Cricket World Cup semifinal and final in England. Talking about a young man who went to Trinidad Carnival. Talking about, and as Kerryann mentioned earlier, a young man who may have come home from a fete on the back of a pickup truck.”

For Nurse, those experiences were evidence of his brother’s determination to remain included.

“So, there was that social balance. There was the academic side, the academic pursuit. He was always very passionate about that from whether it be primary school level, to secondary school, to the university.”

He said the changing environment for people with disabilities was an important part of Nurse’s legacy, adding that Barbados has since made progress towards greater inclusion.

“The mindset during Kregg’s time was one of struggle. The mindset was one where if you had a disability, you had to be kind of almost in the shadows, or you had to rely on someone to kind of bring you out of those shadows.”

(LE)