Rasbert Turner, Gleaner Writer

On a day when most youngsters would either be in church celebrating Good Friday mass with their families or enjoying the break from school by flying kites, 10-year-old Slue Dunkwa Delahaye was seen on his father's farm in Bushy Park, St Catherine.

Slue, who attends the Monsignor Collin Bryan Preparatory School in Old Harbour, St Catherine, says he wants to be an entomologist (a person who studies insects).

On the farm, Slue gets his inspiration, as he has an abundance of insects to inspect.

In fact, that is what we found him doing on Good Friday!

Connection to nature

His father, Leroy Delahaye, said his son's connection to nature started when he was much smaller, and even now, at the tender age of 10, is looking like a career choice.

"He has been a lover of nature from he was a little boy following me to the fields and it has not changed. From as early as two years old he would catch frogs, snails, snakes, and any insects he comes across. He even does the same at school,'' Leroy said.

Slue paid The Gleaner cameras very little interest yesterday, as he was determined to investigate the goings-on of slugs in a purple cabbage patch on the farm.

Leroy, who is the winner of many citations and trophies from the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries for his exploits on the introduction of a number of new methods in farming, said if his son wants to pursue a career different from the farming he loves, the youngster will have his full support.

Once we could tear him away from his precious slugs, Slue talked with real passion about his hobby.

He said that he loved to catch insects and talked about caterpillars in particular which, he said, were very soft creatures.

Slue said he sometimes takes home insects so he can study their movements. That aspect of his hobby, he says, is fascinating and has pushed him to want formal training in the field.

rasbert.turner@gleanerjm.com