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Forestry Department, JBM announce partnership to plant 20,000 trees

Published:Monday | October 9, 2023 | 12:06 AM
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Michele-Lee Bowine-Clarke (centre), acting rural sociologist, Western Zone at the Forestry Department, plants Pride of Barbados seedlings with students of Frome Technical High School in Westmoreland during a National Tree Planting Day ceremony at the schoo
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Michele-Lee Bowine-Clarke (centre), acting rural sociologist, Western Zone at the Forestry Department, plants Pride of Barbados seedlings with students of Frome Technical High School in Westmoreland during a National Tree Planting Day ceremony at the school last Friday.
A policer joins two Golden Grove Basic School students in planting a seedling during the main National Tree Planting Day ceremony held at the Jamaica Bauxite Mining Limited Protocol House in St Ann.
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A policer joins two Golden Grove Basic School students in planting a seedling during the main National Tree Planting Day ceremony held at the Jamaica Bauxite Mining Limited Protocol House in St Ann.
Ainsley Henry (left), CEO and conservator of forests at the Forestry Department, is joined by Donna Howe, managing director of Jamaica Bauxite Mining Limited and Dr Kenneth Russell, who represented Lisa Hanna, member of parliament for South East St Ann, i
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Ainsley Henry (left), CEO and conservator of forests at the Forestry Department, is joined by Donna Howe, managing director of Jamaica Bauxite Mining Limited and Dr Kenneth Russell, who represented Lisa Hanna, member of parliament for South East St Ann, in planting ornamental seedlings during the main National Tree Planting Day ceremony held at the Jamaica Bauxite Mining Limited Protocol House in St Ann.
Students of Mount Hermon All-Age School in Westmoreland present fruit and ornamental seedlings to be planted at the school on National Tree Planting Day.
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Students of Mount Hermon All-Age School in Westmoreland present fruit and ornamental seedlings to be planted at the school on National Tree Planting Day.
Fayval Williams, minister of education and youth, plants fruit seedlings with students of Shortwood Practising Primary & Infant School in St Andrew on National Tree Planting Day.
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Fayval Williams, minister of education and youth, plants fruit seedlings with students of Shortwood Practising Primary & Infant School in St Andrew on National Tree Planting Day.
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A five-year partnership to plant 20,000 trees, between the Forestry Department and the Jamaica Bauxite Mining (JBM) Limited, was launched during this year’s National Tree Planting Day ceremony at the JBM’s Protocol House in Lydford, St Ann.

Following the announcement, guests planted 1,000 trees signalling a strong start to the partnership.

Ainsley Henry, CEO and conservator of forests, said, “Large-scale planting of trees signals good things for expanding our tree cover and what with the recent lengthy and record-breaking period of heat and drought experienced across Jamaica, we certainly need it.”

This partnership is part of a strategically aligned effort by JBM, over the next three to five years, as part of its reclamation and sustainable restoration of mined-out lands efforts.

Donna Howe, managing director of JBM, said National Tree Planting Day “aligns and identifies with our environmental social governance objectives, and “JBM is getting behind a number of these types of environmental and socially impactful projects”.

Howe added that its tree-planting goals support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of sequential land development as custodian owners of lands in St Ann. The bauxite company planted 1,000 trees at the National Labour Day Project last May and will plant an additional 2,000 trees by the end of the 2023-2024 financial year.

National Tree Planting Day was celebrated Friday under the theme, ‘Keep the Heat Away … Plant a Tree Today!’.

More than 100 volunteers, including JBM staff, political representatives, schools in St Ann and other partners joined efforts to plant 1,000 trees on the Beulah Park property.

This was among several tree-planting projects supported by the Forestry Department on Friday. Tree planting was also done at Frome Technical High School in Westmoreland, Kingston High and McNie All-Age in Clarendon.

The department also partnered with the Northern Rio Minho Local Forest Management Committee to plant 500 trees at the Bull Head Forest Reserve and with Total Energies to reforest two hectares in New Danks, Clarendon.

Entities such as Jamaica Red Cross, DiCawna Library, Cemex and Caribbean Tree Planting Project also led tree-planting activities, which will all count towards the 300,000 trees targetted for planting under the National Tree Planting Initiative by year-end.

The agency aims to complete the #3milliontrees target by December 31, 2023, and appeals to the public for its support, not just to meet the target, but to help build a climate- resilient Jamaica, increase forest cover, and establish high-value green spaces for its citizens.

National Tree Planting Day is celebrated on the first Friday in October annually. Through the annual National Tree Planting Day seedling distribution, the agency makes tree planting an accessible activity in which anyone can participate. The seedling distribution, which started on September 25 and ends on October 13, offers free seedlings to the public to plant trees on National Tree Planting Day or within the distribution period.

- Individuals can visit any of the Forestry Department’s nurseries in Constant Spring, Moneague and Williamsfield to collect up to 10 free ornamental and timber seedlings.

- Coordinators of larger projects who require more than 10 seedlings, can email fdinfo@forestry.gov.jm to make their request.