Tuesday, November 10 – The National Parks Trust will stage the first ever ‘Arbour Day in the Park’ as part of Arbour Day 2009 activities on Friday, November 20, the same day as the formal Arbour Day celebrations.
The event will be held at the Noel Lloyd Positive Action Movement Park from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. under the theme, “You’re just in Time to Plant a Tree in 2009”.
Director of the National Parks Trust Mr. Joseph Abbott Smith spoke with the Department of Information and Public Relations on the importance of the day’s event and the decision to get the community more involved at another venue.
“This year, not only will we have our traditional ceremony at one of the Territory’s schools, but we will also ensure that the public has a central venue for the collection and purchase of trees,” the director said.
He further outlined the benefits of trees to the society and spoke of their importance especially as it relates to climate change.
“Planting trees is even more important in the age of climate change. As trees grow, they take up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in their structures such as their trunks and branches,” Mr. Smith Abbot said.
“The more trees are planted, the less carbon dioxide, the ‘heat-trapping’ gas which causes climate change remains in our atmosphere. Therefore, trees provide us with a cooler, healthier planet, protect our water resources and provide us with a rich natural habitat,” the National Parks Director explained.
On display will be plant species indigenous to the Territory, including the Alpighia Woodburyana ‘Bulldog’ and the Acacia anegadensis ‘Poke me Boy’. A limited number of trees will be available for free distribution to the public along with a variety of fruit trees and ornamental shrubs which will be on sale.
The Conservation and Fisheries Department, the Department of Disaster Management, the Town and Country Planning Department and the Department of Agriculture are among those invited to participate in the Arbour Day extravaganza to provide information on the protection of resources or to highlight reforestation work within their own parameters.
The National Parks Trust is encouraging the community to participate in ‘Arbour Day in the Park,’ and the various other activities leading up to Arbour Day 2009.
Almanac features on radio station ZBVI are scheduled for the week of November 16 -20 where the public will gain factual information on Arbour Day, tree-planting techniques and mulching. Earlier this month, the trust began a radio trivia quiz and concluded the Arbour Day poetry competition. The names of all winners will be revealed at the formal Arbour Day ceremony at Cedar International School on Arbour Day on November 20.
For the month of November the National Parks Trust is requesting the support of community groups, schools and residents to plant trees across the Territory to aid the beautification and reforestation efforts.
Arbour Day was founded in the Territory by the late J.R. O’Neal, the first chairman of the National Parks Trust. It was an initiative patterned after a practice started in the United States of America to promote the replanting of trees to improve and safe-guard water resources and reduce exposed landscapes. The first tree planting ceremony took place in the Territory in 1953 to commemorate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and has continued annually since 1961.
British Virgin Islands News