We pay tribute today to the life and work of Professor Julian Kenny, a true national patriot who dedicated his life to studying the zoological sciences and making us in Trinidad and Tobago aware of the wonderful world of flora and fauna that surrounds us. We feel deep empathy with the family, relatives and friends of Prof Kenny in this their time of great loss. But it may be heartening to them to know that the nation is sharing in their loss. First of all, we note with great appreciation the work done by Prof Kenny with generations of students in the biological sciences at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine campus. For certain, hundreds of those students will be reflecting over the immediate future the lessons learnt from their professor.
With something of a smile, his students and colleagues will recall his quirks as well as his devotion to studying and understanding the environment in which we are privileged to live. But Prof Kenny did not merely lecture in the classroom. He researched and chronicled in several books for generations to come the native orchids, the biological diversity of the country, including the fish, the lizards and other species of animal life which we sometimes take for granted. Outside of the university classroom, Prof Kenny was certainly among the first generation of nationals deeply committed to protecting the natural environment against the many brutal incursions by man.
But he was no mere mountain-top academic. For many years, Prof Kenny wrote columns in the daily newspapers letting his unvarnished views be known on any attack, perceived or real, on the environment by anyone and any institution in the national community. He was not prepared to sit quietly and practise his profession in silence, seeking not to offend anyone. Indeed, in his last public office as chairman of the Environmental Management Authority (EMA), Prof Kenny resigned and made it known to everyone that the EMA was being violated by the powers that be. He cited the institution of laws governing quarrying, which he thought amounted to a licence to operators to despoil the environment. "I don't think this or any other government gives a damn about the environment," Prof Kenny was quoted as saying in his typically frank manner.
He served a full term as an Independent senator in the Parliament in the late 1990s and a one-year stint in the short-lived government of 2000-2001. He brought expert knowledge to the Upper House on matters relating to the environment as well as more than passing knowledge of T&T's history and aspects of the country's constitution. He could not be intimidated by either the Government or the Opposition in setting forth his views on issues such as the construction of a smelter plant in south Trinidad and what it could do to the environment and the limp nature of the EMA in granting certificates of environmental clearance.
Prof Kenny was also a champion of the built-up history of the country and its artefacts as for years he bemoaned the treatment of our great historical buildings. He was also one of the first voices raised in protection of the various heritage sites, especially those on the Five Islands. The retired UWI professor also made the national community fully aware of the massive land erosion that was taking place in Cedros and the need to pay attention to engaging in remedial work. We are confident that his widow, Joan, his children Peter and Philippa, as well as the other relatives, close friends and colleagues of this outstanding citizen will be consoled in their grief by the knowledge that he spent his time here seeking to have us become more conscious of the wonders of the animal and plant life we inherited and the need for us to preserve them for future generations. Thank you, Prof Kenny, may you rest in peace.