Earth Day Celebrations 2021
On Thursday, 22nd April 2021, the Saint Lucia National Trust (SLNT) and other stakeholders in Saint Lucia joined the rest of the world in commemorating Earth Day 2021. Earth Day is observed annually on 22nd April with the aim of drawing attention to the importance of the earth and its ecosystems and the need to protect them.
The theme that guided this year’s Earth Day observances was ‘Restore Our Earth’. This year’s theme sought to encourage us to take action to reduce our negative impact on the environment and adopt natural processes and green technologies that contribute towards restoring our planet. To this end, the SLNT with support from other agencies undertook several activities from the 19th to the 23rd of April 2021. The activities were all geared towards educating individuals about our unique ecosystems and encouraging them to take action in support of this year’s theme.
The SLNT’s social media platforms were abuzz with environment quizzes throughout the week. The highlight of the week though was the SLNT’s Solèy Kouche event held in the evening of 22nd April 2021. This year’s Solèy Kouché event was the opening of a new trail on Pigeon Island, as well as the planting of the first three (fat poke) of approximately seventy-one local trees that will be introduced along this trail. The trees will not only assist in building climate resilience through slope stabilisation but they will also contribute to the safety and well-being of the patrons utilizing the trail. In his remarks at the ceremony, the Assistant Chief Forestry Officer, Dr. Donatian Gustave, stated that “trees play a crucial role in the optimal functioning of ecosystems and provide the services of green landscapes and soil conservation”. In recognition of this, the Forests and Lands Resources Department will be donating at least fifty of the trees required for this initiative.
The winners of the SLNT’s Earth Day 2021 quizzes were, Ms. Bertine Charlery, Ms. Annia Ellis-Haynes, Ms. Jeanell Lambert, Mr. Amar Gaston and Ms. Gemma Felix. We would like to express our appreciation to the sponsors; Cream N Bean, KFC, Lloyd’s Cupcakery and Massy Stores for the week’s quizzes. Look out for our article on the new trail on Pigeon Island in this issue of our newsletter for more information on LUCELEC’s generous sponsorship of the new trail.
The actions we have been encouraged to adopt in commemoration of Earth Day are meant to be sustained as we should be celebrating Earth Day every day. We at the SLNT encourage all Saint Lucians to continue adopting practices that contribute to restoring our Earth and its ecosystems so that our present and future generations, and the species we share them with can enjoy longer and healthier lives.