PM and visiting dignitary add to tree count at Walkers Reserve

Some 125 000 trees have been planted in Barbados since 2019 when the One Tree for Every Bajan programme was launched.

On Tuesday, two more were added as Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley and the European Commission Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans visited Walkers Reserve in St. Andrew as part of their tour on climate resilience and vulnerability.

Mottley and Timmermans planted a Saman tree and a Flamboyant tree during the visit. 

“This is the essence of climate policies. You plant a tree today and know that future generations will be sitting in the shade of it. We need to be good ancestors”, said Timmermans. 

“This is a picture of partnership for the future”, said PM Mottley. 

Others participating in the initiative at Walkers Reserve included Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Kerrie Symmonds; Minister of the Environment and National Beautification and Blue and Green Economy, Adrian Forde and the European Union Ambassador to Barbados Malgorzata Wasilewska. 

Walkers Reserve continues to be a model for climate change resilience in the Caribbean. The 277-acre space in the Scotland District is at the heart of Barbados’ National Parks system and is stewarded by the Walkers Institute for Regenerative Research Education and Design (WIRRED),

Tree planting has been critical to the regeneration of Walkers Reserve and remains one of the key approaches to increasing climate resilience. Trees sequester carbon, build habitats, increase biodiversity and food security. 

All trees planted under this initiative are counted toward Barbados’ national goal of planting one million trees. 

WIRRED continues to raise public awareness around the need for climate action on all levels. In May 2023, WIRRED worked with the European Union for the launch of Euroclima in the Caribbean, a new flagship climate programme that will support low-emission investments, climate-resilient development and environmental
sustainability. 

(PR)