Building Forward - Hurricane Recovery in USVI

We are pleased to share updates with you regarding the environmental hurricane recovery and resiliency projects funded through your support!

Native Tree Planting

The St. Croix Environmental Association (SEA) has nearly completed its project, which had the primary purpose of increasing the number of native tress on St. Croix through planting and community tree giveaways. Planting native trees is an important aspect in the recovery from Hurricanes Irma and Maria and restoring the natural ecosystem that can better withstand future storms. Native trees are adapted to withstand the impacts of and recover from hurricanes. The root systems of native trees are well adapted to holding soil in place, keeping it on land rather than washing into the ocean and choking important coastal ecosystems. Finally, native trees are adapted to host native pollinators such as bees, hummingbirds, and bats, all of which are essential to forest recovery and the production of fruits that are an important food source for humans and wildlife alike. 

The specific goal of this project was to plant 100 trees at the Southgate Coastal Reserve and to give away at least 150 trees to community members. Thanks to the generosity of the St. George Village Botanical Gardens and ARTfarm in providing discounted price on trees, SEA were able to purchase a total of 310 trees. Of these, 170 were given away at community giveaways and 140 were planted at the Southgate Coastal Reserve or the Barren Spot Bat Tower. Two community tree giveaways were held - one on the west end of the island at UCAs (a popular vegetarian restaurant and community gathering location) and the other on the east end of the island at ARTfarm (a family owned organic farm). Both were well attended and gave us an opportunity to talk-on-one about individual tree species with the recipients. SEA held a number of volunteer tree planting days and totaled participation by nearly 50 volunteers of all ages. Volunteers included individuals, families, and community organizations. Volunteers that were interested were also encouraged to take trees as part of the giveaway.

Project challenges were minimal and primarily logistical in nature. Moving such a large number of trees and keeping them alive until the dates of planting or tree giveaways took more effort than we expected. The other challenge was that many people that attended the tree giveaways wanted fruit trees, rather than native species that are hurricane adapted. SEA was able to use the opportunity to talk about the value of native trees and how they are especially important in hurricane recovery and resilience. They also had some additional outreach help from several University of the Virgin Islands students that researched the value of native trees in hurricane recovery and also a radio DJ on an agriculturally themed radio show that informed listeners of the value of native trees.

Recycling