In an effort to replenish Jamaica’s forest cover, the National Tree Planting Initiative (NTPI) will oversee the planting of 3,000 saplings along Lady Musgrave and East King’s House roads in St Andrew.

The announcement was made at Jamaica House on Saturday (January 28) where a group led by Matthew Samuda, minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, participated in a tree planting exercise.

Samuda shared that the trees are to be planted within a kilometre of each on both private and government land to combat the potential loss of some trees in the area due to road works and other developments.

While participating at the event, Chief Executive Officer and Conservator of Forests, Forestry Department, Ainsley Henry, said the planting exercise is essential for the urban area.

“We believe that in planting a lot of these trees, we will be able to reduce the heat effect within Kingston, we will improve the air quality, and also improve [the] aesthetics [of the area],” he said.

The public is also being encouraged to participate in the tree planting exercise, with seedlings being distributed at two NTPI locations in Kingston. These include the Barbican Beach and Barbican Shopping Complex, spearheaded by a team from the Forestry Department.

The initiative was officially launched in 2019 by Prime Minister Andrew Holness. The aim is to have three million trees planted in areas of high development. This is to combat the degradation of the environment due to the development of the urban space.

– JIS