Trees Planted at Dunns River Watershed on Earth Day

The Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB), in partnership with the Forestry Department and the Sandals Foundation, planted 250 forest seedlings at the Dunns River Watershed, located at Bogue Estate in Ocho Rios, St. Ann, in recognition of Earth Day on April 22.

Some 50 volunteers from the three organisations carried out the activity.

Assistant Commissioner at the JFB in Charge of Area 2, Julian Davis-Buckle, told JIS News that the Brigade battled several forest fires last year that caused a vast loss of trees in the region.

She noted that this played a part in the JFB partnering with the Sandals Foundation and the Forestry Department for this year’s Earth Day initiative.

“We understand the importance of this, and we wanted to be counted, we wanted to be part of this mission. Even though we are firefighters, we have a responsibility, and this is where we are today and I am happy,” Mrs. Davis-Buckle said.

For her part, Regional Public Relations Manager at the Sandals Ochi Beach Resort, Lyndsay Issacs, told JIS News that the Sandals Foundation takes caring for the environment seriously.

“Without the environment we are nothing. Earth Day is one of the many days that is a calendar event for us, and we try to do as much as we can,” she said.

“We have partnered with the Forestry Department for many years. We have been coming to this [watershed], even during the pandemic when there was a limited amount of persons that could travel, when we could only take 10 persons out, and we had [the same] 250 seedlings to plant. It was a task, but we were determined, and we made it happen,” Ms. Isaacs said.

She also underscored the importance of partnering with JFB.

Forester at the Forestry Department, based at Bogue Estate, Michael Thomas, told the volunteers that trees play a fundamental role in the environment; as such, planting them is paramount.

Mr. Thomas underscored that the watershed is of critical importance where forestry is concerned.

“We have to ensure that we keep this area in a pristine state, to have as much vegetation as possible, and ensure that the water quality, especially, remains in good condition. Once the water quality is good, then Dunn’s River is okay and then we can earn the foreign exchange from that,” he outlined.

“If anything should happen and the water quality at Dunn’s River gets contaminated, then that could be a big problem. [Additionally], because of the nature of the forest that helps to keep the water in such a pristine way, it also costs the National Water Commission (NWC) less to treat the water,” Mr. Thomas noted.

This year’s Earth Day was observed under the theme ‘Planet vs. Plastics’, which sought to bring attention to the issue of how plastic pollution harms the environment.