Beekeeper heads to Wales on scholarship
When most students were engaged in the activities in the classroom, Adrian Watson could not resist focusing his attention on nature’s calling outside the window. Much to the frustration of his teachers, he was more intrigued by the trees swaying and the butterflies playfully fluttering outside his Grade Four classroom window at St Aloysius Primary in Kingston.
This interest in the natural environment blossomed as he got older, and has set the stage for his journey to Bangor University in Wales this year as a Chevening scholar. Watson will read for a masters degree in conservation and land management.
As a youngster, Watson grew up in Seaview Gardens, St Andrew, enjoyed attending field trips to observe Jamaica’s landscape and explore the island’s rugged terrains and lush vegetation. Of the many excursions he undertook while at primary school, he vividly remembers going to a bird sanctuary in Montego Bay, St James, and Monkey Island, a few miles off the coast in Port Antonio, Portland.
It may have a natural inclination for the environmentalist to pursue a double major undergraduate degree in zoology and geography at The University of the West Indies, Mona in 2008, but was left a bit disappointed when he graduated with a ‘pass’, instead of the highly distinguished ‘first-class honours’ degree in 2012. He wanted to pursue further studies at UWI but one of his lecturers advised him to broaden his scope, and apply to programmes abroad.
“I was struggling to find universities that would accept me, as I was struggling at UWI. She said get the work experience and if someone should take you on as a student with a pass degree, then I would be a shoe in. I started looking at Australia, Canada, the UK and then I started looking at who would sponsor me. I applied for Chevening in 2018 because it is literally the only full- ride scholarship, and then I started looking for a school that does conservation,” he said.
The 33-year-old shared that this is his third time applying for the Chevening Scholarship, but deferred his acceptance in 2018 and was rejected in 2019. This year’s acceptance was a worthwhile wait. The programme of his choice as Bangor has a bee-keeping component, which is one of Watson’s passions.
The proprietor and the beekeeper of a local small-scale social enterprise called Honai Beez Apiary, and a think-tank named the Jamaica Environment Entrepreneur’s Advocacy Network, Watson is focused on environmental discussions for owners of social enterprises.