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| National??Conservation Commission (NCC) garden centre. (photo from www.nccbarbados.gov.bb)?? |
The National Conservation Commission (NCC) is more than a debushing institution.
Minister of the Environment and Drainage, Dr. Denis Lowe, made it clear that the NCC provided a "far more sophisticated service" than simply debushing the country.
"The NCC must now engage itself in examining what other countries are doing," and continue working to set up systems and targets that would allow them to pursue some of those particular areas.
Speaking during a recent interview, the Minister described the NCC as an agency with a planned agenda, which ensured that open spaces were observed, maintained and standardized, relative to areas of recreation.
"The NCC does a tremendous job in Barbados in helping to enhance the environmental aesthetics of the country," he pointed out.
Dr. Lowe stressed that, the NCC should also be seen as helping to drive the greening of Barbados through its tree planting programme, the objective of which was to plant 5,000 trees in five years.
"The expanded version of the programme is a 50,000 tree planting programme that the NCC is working on," Dr. Lowe said.
The Botanical Garden programme is also another initiative to create a national ???green space’ in Barbados, where families and friends can enjoy the natural beauty of their environment. The garden, located at Waterford, St. Michael, will have several components, including a CARICOM Garden and an orchard.
The Minister lauded the work of employees responsible for landscaping across the country. "We are really pleased with what they are doing. One of their masterpieces… is Hastings Rocks. They have really transformed the area up there," he said.
He further noted that officials at the institution were also working on upgrading a number of its facilities around the country, and creating more energy and water efficiency projects.?? The NCC also provides an array of beach – related services including a cleaning and ranger services.