Mr. ARLINGTON JAMES
Documents available at the Documentation Centre
Online Document
- Dominica's Basketball in 1988
- Dominica's Basketball in 2012
- Dominica's Basketball in 2011
- Dominica's journey through OECS Basketball 1984 to 1996
- Dominica's Netball in 1984
- Dominica's football in 1987
- Dominica's football in 1988
- Dominica's football in 2021
- Matthieu Lake monitoring records December 1997 to July 2011
Biography
Mr. Arlington James
He was born in Dominica and grew up in Vieille Case, Roseau, Goodwill, Pottersville, and currently resides at Elmshall.
SCHOOLS ATTENDED:
He attended the Roseau Mixed Infants’ School, Roseau Girls’ School, Roseau Boys’ School and Dominica Grammar School where he did his GCE “Ordinary” Level and “Advanced” Level exams.
TERTIARY EDUCATION:
Two years after leaving school, he began pursuing a 2-year course of study in General Forestry at the Eastern Caribbean Institute for Agriculture & Forestry (ECIAF) in Trinidad where he earned a Diploma in Forestry.
He next pursued and successfully completed a Bachelor of Science degree programme in Natural Resources (BSNR) at the Ann Arbor Campus of the University of Michigan, USA.
FULL-TIME EMPLOYMENT:
Upon leaving Sixth Form at the Dominica Grammar School, James gained employment as an Unqualified Assistant Teacher at his alma mater where he taught Biology, General Science, English and other subjects at different levels over a 2-year period.
After graduating from ECIAF, Arlington joined the staff of the Forestry, Wildlife & Parks Division where he was employed from 1976 to 2011. While his substantive position at the time of pre-retirement was Forest Officer, on several occasions prior he acted in the position of Director of Forestry, Wildlife & Parks.
James headed the Division’s Environmental Monitoring, Research and Education Unit, and during that time, among other duties he headed the Division’s efforts in the monitoring of the Matthieu Lake & Dam (formed in November 1997), and the Boiling Lake’s fluctuation episode of 2004/2005. He also conducted extensive documentation work among five species of native palm. and also conducted phenological (flowering and fruiting) studies among two of those species.
From his fourth year in the Division, James also produced – or led the production of – several natural history publications on behalf of the Division, including books and booklets (e.g. ‘Dominica’s Birds’, ‘Playing With Plants In The Nature Isle’, ‘Dominica’s Freshwater Swamps & Mangrove Species’ (3 editions), ‘Flora & Fauna Of Cabrits National Park’ (2 editions), ‘The Sowing Of A Seed’, ‘An Illustrated Guide to Dominica’s Botanic Gardens’, the 9 editions of ‘The New Forester’ journal, and several other booklets), posters, brochures, and the Division’s second stint of the ‘Vwa Diablotin’ Environmental Awareness tabloid (1989-1992).
While a Forestry Officer, he published (solo), or co-authored a few articles in international journals, and the subjects of those articles were native palms and the Matthieu/Carholm/Layou Disaster.
WRITING AFTER RETIRING:
Since his retirement in 2012, James has produced several compilations, including one on the Layou/Matthieu/Carholm Disaster; another on the Boiling Lake Fatalities of 1901; one on the Diablotin bird finds of 1932 and 2007; ‘The Harlem Stories’, and collectively over 60 on the sports of football, basketball and netball at the national level.
During retirement he also published several articles in local newspapers and Online, e.g. ‘Erika, Trafalgar and Boiling Lake’, ‘How Hurricane Maria Ravaged Dominica’s Botanic Gardens’, ‘That’s The Same Roseau River’, ‘A Swamp With Leeches in Dominica’, ‘Dominica’s Amazing Pwipwis’, several on the Boiling Lake’s Episodes of Instability and others.
Copies of the compilations, books and booklets as well as dozens of reports were made available to the National Documentation Centre and Library Service.
NATIONAL AWARD:
In 2013, James received the Services Medal of Honour (SMH) from the Government of Dominica for his contributions in natural history research and environmental education.
EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES:
* Served as a Choir Member at the Roseau Cathedral Choir in the 1970s.
* Was a member of the Dominica Grammar School Cadet Corps
* Basketball - played with Dominica Grammar School, Raiders, ECIAF, Ambassadors, Green City and Jordan Wall teams; also served as a senior referee and in basketball administration
* Was a founding member of the Waitukubuli Dance Theatre Company
* Was a member of the People’s Action Theatre and was part of the contingent that represented Dominica at the first-ever Caribbean Festival of Arts (CARIFESTA) in Guyana
* Serves as a member of the Konmité Pou Étid Kwéyòl (KEK), and is currently assisting in the production of a new Kwéyòl Dictionary for Dominica
* Photography
* Hiking with friends and the Dwivayèz Hiking Club
* Produced a column on local basketball in The Sun newspaper, from 2016 to 2024.
biography complied June 2024 by Mr. Arlington James
