Over 400 Saplings Planted In Freeport Area Mangroves

More than 400 saplings were planted in mangroves along the Freeport area of Montego Bay, St. James.

The Montego Bay Marine Park Trust collaborated with the Circle K International Club of the University of Technology (UTech) West on the environmental initiative that is geared towards the continued preservation of the wetlands.

Education and Outreach Officer at the Montego Bay Marine Park Trust, Sharlinda Forrester, told JIS News that several bags of solid waste were also removed from the area.

She said that in addition to preserving the ecosystem, the mangroves play a critical role in preventing garbage from ending up at sea.

“A lot of persons will go there, they will park up, dump rubbish and they will even root up some of the trees,” she pointed out.

“So we realised that over time, the [mangroves] have been depleting. So we are rehabilitating that area by planting out more mangroves, because we don’t know what might happen. If we can put in some mangroves in the future, it can sustain the environment right there,” she said.

Ms. Forrester is urging the general public to be more responsible in the disposal of their solid waste.

She said that environmental protection is “everybody’s responsibility” and not just the concern of a certain subset of society.

“This is the environment we are all living in together, so do your part, whether it is recycling, cleaning up after yourself, and being mindful of what you do in the environment,” she pointed out.

“So that is what we are trying to do right now; rehabilitate that [Freeport] area and also spread the word about taking care of the environment,” Ms. Forrester said.