PLANTING A TREE FOR THE JUBILEE

 

On Monday 6 June at High Peak, Blue Hill, the Environmental Management Division, in collaboration with the Cloud Forest Project, facilitated the planting of She Cabbage trees to celebrate Her Majesty the Queen’s 70 years of service.

 

Portfolio Director of Environment Natural Resources and Planning (ENRP), Darren Duncan, said:

 

“St Helena’s She Cabbage tree is being planted today as part of the ‘Plant a Tree for the Jubilee’ initiative and is one of our endangered endemic species. It is extinct in the wild and for the first time since its discovery in the 1970’s, ENRP’s Terrestrial conservation team has been able to collect some 20,000 seeds to enable its propagation and continue it’s planting.  As we cannot store the seed of the She Cabbage like we can for the seed of the majority of St Helena’s endemic plants, each seed collected has to be planted quickly after collection. 

 

“Today as we celebrate the last of the Queen’s Jubilee events on the Island, in our little corner of the Commonwealth and the world we can be proud to both say and demonstrate we our doing our bit to conserve one of our endangered endemic plant species and contribute to the Queen’s Green Canopy initiative.”

Darren also gave a special welcome to St Helena’s oldest resident, Muma Lizzie, who attended the event.

 

The Queen’s Green Canopy is a unique tree planting initiative created to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022 which invites people to ‘Plant a Tree for the Jubilee’. Everyone from individuals to groups, villages, cities, counties, schools and corporations across the Commonwealth were encouraged to play their part to enhance the environment by planting trees. With a focus on planting sustainably, the Queen’s Green Canopy encourages the planting of trees to create a legacy in honour of the Queen’s leadership which will benefit future generations.

 

A special thanks to all members of the community who participated in tree planting and for those who also captured and recorded such a significant event.

SHG
9 June 2022