The Firearm Licensing Authority (FLA) planted 45 fruit and flowering trees and carried out repair and beautification work at schools and other facilities across the island on Labour Day.

Under the national theme, ‘Plant a Tree for Life – Promoting Climate Change Mitigation, Food Security and Road Safety’, the FLA spearheaded activities in the four parishes where it operates – St. Ann, St. Andrew, Manchester and St. James.

Director of Corporate Planning and Client Relations at the FLA, Beverley Robinson, told JIS News that the entity decided to honour the theme by planting fruit trees at selected venues.

“We know why we are planting trees. We want to reduce the impact of global warming on our island country. We know we are a small island developing state, and we are one of those nations that have been adversely affected by climate change. We also want to improve food security, so we are able to achieve both objectives through the planting of trees,” she noted.

Robinson said that the entity reached out to the Forestry Department and the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) to supply trees and seedlings.

In St. Andrew, members of staff and volunteers of the FLA planted 15 ackee trees and 11 flowering trees on the grounds of the Jamaica Society for the Blind. They also painted the resources and daily skills/living room area at the facility and donated care packages.

Chairman of the Jamaica Society for the Blind, Damian McLean, expressed gratitude for the assistance.

“We knew that persons were coming, but I didn’t know it would have been on this massive scale, and it shows the dedication to the cause. You have significantly impacted our Adjustment to Blindness programme, which speaks to daily living skills,” McLean said.

He noted that the donation would go a far way in enabling the organisation to assist persons who are adjusting to being blind.

“We have plans to build out our feeding programme, as unemployment is one of the biggest issues affecting blind and visually impaired persons. So, from time to time, we run a small feeding programme to provide one meal per day and these ackee trees will contribute to that,” McLean said.

In St. Ann, the FLA team worked at the Eccleston Primary School in Aboukir in Cave Valley, where they planted 11 fruit seedlings, such as ackee, guava, cherry, apple, star fruit and naseberry, and painted three classrooms.

Garden tools were also donated to the school courtesy of RADA.

Over in St. James, the FLA team marked and painted a pedestrian crossing at the Catherine Hall Infant and Primary School in West Green, Montego Bay, to improve the safety of students.

Eight fruit trees were planted at the institution in keeping with the Labour Day theme.

In Manchester, the Candle in the Dark Ministries, located on Caledonia Road in Mandeville, received a facelift with the painting of the exterior of its two-storey building and covered the outdoor sitting area with tarpaulin to provide protection from the elements.

Candle in the Dark Ministries helps the homeless and mentally ill with independent living skills.