The Saint Lucia National Trust C-19 Relief Fund

The Saint Lucia National Trust, would once again like to thank all those persons who have generously donated to our campaign.  

Although the Covid-19 pandemic has continued to impact the tourism sector, a glimmer of hope has been seen on the horizon, with increasing visitation to Saint Lucia and also to our flagship site, Pigeon Island National Landmark.  However, the increasing cost of goods and services caused by both the pandemic and the surge in oil prices caused by the war in Ukraine, has continued to put a strain on our finances, which in turn has had spin off effects on our operations and conservation work.  

Thankfully, your kind donations have allowed us to continue not only with the maintenance and upkeep of the Pigeon Island National Landmark, but also to assist us in the implementation of important programmes, such as our turtle monitoring programme and our offshore island monitoring programme.

During this reporting period, we recommenced our turtle monitoring programme in the south of Saint Lucia, at the Pointe Sable Environmental Protection Area (PSEPA), which is managed by the Trust.  We are happy to report that successful nestings of Green, Hawksbill and Leatherback turtles have been confirmed and we look forward to seeing the hatchlings in the coming months. Important biodata has also been collected for these species and untagged turtles have been tagged. Such tagging greatly assists scientists both regionally and internationally in tracking the movements of these species in the world's oceans and seas. 

We at the Trust has also continued our offshore island monitoring work at the Maria Islands, home to several endemic and endangered species, including the Saint Lucia Whiptail Lizard and the world's rarest snake, the Saint Lucia Racer. The islands are also an important nesting site for migratory bird species for the United States and Africa. 

It is ciritcal that these unique species are protected, as they form an important part of Saint Lucia's unique biodiversity and your kind donations are allowing us to do so.  

We are very thankful for the contributions received thus far and express our deepest gratitude to all our donors. Your support has enabled us to continue our efforts to conserve the heritage of Saint Lucia . We hope that you will continue on this journey with us as we  work steadfastly to conserve Saint Lucia's unique natural and cultural heritage.

The Saint Lucia National Trust, would once again like to thank all those persons who have generously donated to our campaign.  

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on travel and tourism and the increasing cost of goods and services caused by the pandemic and also the surge in oil prices caused by the war in Ukraine, continues to put a strain on our finances, which in turn has had spin off effects on our operations.  

Thankfully, your kind donations have allowed us to continue with the maintenance and upkeep of the Pigeon Island National Landmark, our flagship site.   During this reporting period we were able to reopen the Pigeon Island Interpretation Centre.  The visual interpreation of aspects of Saint Lucia's and Pigeon Island's history is of paramount importance, as it not only highlights aspects of our culture and heritage, but also brings into focus the different groups of people that occupied Saint Lucia and Pigeon Island at different points in history.  The interpretation centre allows patrons to immerse themselves in some aspects of Saint Lucia's history, including the Amerindian and European occupation periods, the 18th and 19th century battles that were fought over the island by the French and British colonial powers, causing Saint Lucia to be likened to Helen of Troy and so being called the Helen of the West and the fight for freedom by Saint Lucia's freedom fighters in the 18th Century.  Through your kind donations, the Trust is able to continue to work to protect and preserve Saint Lucia's patrimony for the enjoyment of all.  

We are very thankful for the contributions received thus far and to date, through your donations we have received $US$4,189.91 ( £ 3,158.31, €3,619.81) from a total of 91 donations.

We express our deepest gratitude to all our donors; your support has enabled us to continue our efforts to conserve the heritage of Saint Lucia and to retain some of our staff in these trying times. We hope that you will continue on this journey with us as we  work steadfastly to conserve Saint Lucia's unique heritage.

Links:

• News clip of reopening of Pigeon Island Interpretation Centre