In celebration of World Earth Day, the Lions Club of St Vincent South, in collaboration with the local Forestry Department in the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries and Rural Transformation, will on Saturday, April 22, plant 100 trees at the Montreal watershed.

The 100 species of trees will include the Blue Mahoe, Galba and Fiddle wood and will bring the total number of trees planted by the club in the last five years to 650.

President of the Lions Club St Vincent South Lion Dr Jose Davy says: “The benefits to be derived from such a project can never be truly valued because of its far reaching impact on the environment; it impacts the watershed in the area, the animals (birds, reptiles, insects, rodents) some of which are indigenous to the island, and flora and fauna and their habitats, soil conservation and inevitably the environment as a whole, which in return impacts climate change.”

The Forestry Department has embarked on a reforestation drive in the area, as the Montreal watershed contributes 40 per cent of potable water to households across SVG.

World Earth Day is celebrated every year as an annual event by the people all across the world on April 22 in order to increase the awareness among people about the environment safety, as well as to demonstrate the environmental protection measures.

2017 is a pivotal moment for the planet. This Earth Day marks the first anniversary of the signing of the Paris Agreement.

World Earth Day is now celebrated in more than 193 countries each year and this year’s theme, “Environmental and Climate Literacy” calls for persons around the world to help to achieve the goal of planting 7.8 billion trees in preparation for Earth day’s countdown to its 50th anniversary in 2020.