These activities included the outplanting of saplings with students of the Sacred Heart School, an essay contest with students of the Saba Comprehensive School and a community outplanting event. The goal of these activities is to raise awareness on the importance of trees by engaging the island community and having them be a part of the reforestation process.
There are many benefits to having trees and forests on Saba. They not only help mitigate erosion, but they also produce oxygen for the air we breathe, improve air quality by removing pollutant gases and particles, help cool down spaces with their shade, improve soil quality and help to retain soil moisture, provide habitat for an array of other plant and animal species and help provide food with the fruits they bear. Trees also play an important role against climate change by removing carbon dioxide (the driver behind climate change) from the atmosphere and storing it in their bodies.
Outplanting with Sacred Heart School Students
Students of the Sacred Heart School were given the opportunity to learn about the importance of trees and gain first-hand experience in reforestation practices through a series of fieldtrips hosted by the Public Entity’s reforestation project team. For this, Grades 4, 5 and 6 joined the reforestation team at the project’s Thais Hill site in St. John’s to outplant saplings. Each student planted a sapling, which was labelled with the student’s name for identification so that the project team can keep the students updated on the progress of their individual saplings. The teachers were also given the opportunity to plant their own saplings. A total of 64 saplings were planted with the students and teachers.
These saplings were planted among those already planted by the project team of the Saba Conservation Foundation’s ReLeaf Project. This process was carried out with much care to avoid damaging the young trees plant by the ReLeaf team. The Public Entity’s reforestation team will build upon the good work that has already been done by the dedicated members of ReLeaf Project team.
Essay contest with Saba Comprehensive School students
Students of the Saba Comprehensive School were invited to use their critical thinking skills in an essay contest about the importance of reforestation efforts on Saba. The contest was organized by Sea & Learn Foundation who support the Public Entity’s Nature and Environment Policy Plan program with outreach, education and awareness. Each student offered a unique perspective and argumentation on the topic. In the end, 3 students were chosen as winners of the contest with Jianna Petronilia of Form 1 in first place, Kristin Zagers of Form 4 in second and Tanya Matthew of Form 1 in third. Each winning student received a prize.
Community outplanting event
The community of Saba was also invited to take part in the outplanting process. For this event, a small, dedicated group of volunteers joined the reforestation team in outplanting saplings along the slopes of Thais Hill on a Saturday morning. Volunteers were provided the tools and gear needed to outplant the saplings. Some volunteers even brought their own tools and set to work in digging holes in the hardened soil of Thais Hill. A total of 43 saplings were planted, adding to those planted at this site by the students and those by the SCF’s ReLeaf Project. All of these outplanted saplings will help expand the existing tropical, dry forest that covers the lower slopes of Thais Hill. In the past, the spread of this forest was prevented by grazers in the area. The removal of grazers across the island will allow for Saba’s forests to expand island-wide, ultimately transforming the landscape.
