A national initiative to plant more trees across Barbados will move into high gear when the Represent Yuh Zone activity hosted by the National Conservation Commission (NCC), begins tomorrow, Tuesday, September 20.
The tree planting activity takes place in the central, northern and southern zones of the country, and will start with a tree planting exercise at the Harrison Point facility tomorrow, Tuesday, September 20.
On Wednesday, September 21, trees will be planted on the Silver Sands Playing Field, while on Thursday, September 22, there will be an official National Arbor Day ceremony at Queen’s Park. Twenty-five trees will be planted at each venue, and the ceremonies are scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m.
These form some of the activities hosted by the NCC to mark the 25th year of Arbor Day. It is being held under the theme: Trees Save Lives.
Other activities include an arbor virtual tour on the NCC’s Facebook and Instagram pages from tomorrow, Tuesday, September 20.
This virtual tour will create a digital Arborfest experience by allowing users to move through and look around a three-dimensional virtual space, while interacting with preset elements.
The tour will also include virtual vending stalls, various locations of interest within the NCC grounds, the National Botanical Gardens and Garden Shop.
In addition, there is a one-week plant sale at the NCC until Saturday, September 24, at its Garden Centre and Farley Hill locations, with 20 per cent discounts and up to 25 per cent on Arbor Day, Thursday, September 22, only.
Meanwhile, in an effort to assist residents to plant trees correctly, the NCC will make two e-books available for download on its website and social media platforms. The books entitled: A Guide to Tree Planting and Most Common Sins of Barbadian Urban Forestry contain information and offer techniques and practices to generally improve urban forestry in Barbados.
The first Arbor Day was celebrated in Barbados in 1997.