The Society for Historic Architectural Preservation and Enhancement (S.H.A.P.E) has embarked on a tree planting initiative to enhance selected areas within the City of Roseau.
The initiative dubbed “Plant it Up Roseau” was launched this week.
The project, which is being undertaken in collaboration with the Forestry Division and the Ministry responsible for the Environment, was made possible with funding by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
It will be implemented within the City of Roseau from Fond Cole, to Beau Bois, including Goodwill, Kings Hill, Bath Estate, and Roseau Central.
Project Manager, Vanessa Prevost, who addressed the ceremony, said the project is expected to be completed by December 2022.
“This project allows us to participate in the Green Cities Initiative of the FAO,” she said. “There are several components to this project and we expect that our project will be finished by December, 2022.”
She continued, “First thing that the project will be doing will be facilitating multi-stakeholder meetings with municipality officials and other key stakeholders to develop a vision and identify priority areas for interventions in the city, including the drafting of a location plan.”
Prevost also said that S.H.A.P.E plans to organize focused group meetings and Town Hall meetings with the government, business society, and civil society, to discuss ideas about green in the City.
“We will also be doing training workshops for those who are interested in urban forestry and tree maintenance, because it is very important that after the tree is planted it’s maintained,” she explained. “We will be having radio programs to educate people about the benefit of trees in the urban areas.”
She mentioned that S.H.A.P.E will also be working with the schools to help to enhance their existing vegetable garden “if they don’t have one, help them to start one,” she said.
The “Plant it Up Roseau” Project Manager added, “At the end, we will have lessons learnt, we will see what works and what did not work and this record will be available for future projects and to share with other green cities around the world.”
Meantime, Prevost revealed that S.H.A.P.E will organize a beautification competition for the city of Roseau and the environs, a date for which will be announced later.
“Basically, what we are going to be doing is having a competition between all the various front yards, businesses, everybody who can do something in their area and we will have prizes for the best categories,” she stated.
What I did not read in the article as the target number of trees they intend to plant.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m all for planting trees, providing that in doing so it does not stop us from seeing the proverbial wood for the trees.
I refer to the ad hoc piecemeal development of Roseau. Without a masterplan what is done today may be bulldozed over tomorrow. Unless we keep an eye on the bigger picture, the lyrics of Joni Mitchell’s song from the 1970’s will come to haunt us.
You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone,
They’ve paved paradise and put in a parking lot.
On a related topic. May I ask how things are progressing with the hastily contrived design competition for the new Roseau Library? The design brief indicated consent for one more green space to be concreted over.
A very good initiative. I just hope the the FA.O. money does not get swallowed up before the trees are in place.