Rotary Club Plants Trees With Children From Homes at Biodiversity Centre
VICTORIA, Seychelles — The Rotary Club of Victoria held its annual tree-planting activity at the National Biodiversity Centre in Barbarons, with the help of 18 children from homes. Clad in raincoats and branded umbrellas, the team braved unfavourable weather to take part in the activity, which is now a regular fixture on the club’s calendar at the start of the new year. The day formed part of the club’s youth and environment programme for 2024, run in cooperation with the centre.
Marie-Pierre Lloyd, president of the Rotary Club of Victoria, said the day was a good way for the children to learn about Seychelles’ endemic trees. She added that it was also a useful way to enhance their knowledge of conservation and preservation of endemic species. “In these activities, the kids get to have a day out but also get to understand and learn about what they are doing,” Mrs Lloyd said.
As for the partnership with the National Biodiversity Centre, Mrs Lloyd described it as beneficial. “By partnering with the Biodiversity Centre, we have a place where we can take the children to plant trees, and they are the ones providing the trees instead.” The senior horticulturist at the Biodiversity Centre, Damien Doudee, made it easier for the children by demonstrating how to plant trees properly, after which the children, with their own gloves and shovels, went about their work, assisted by staff of the centre. The partnership with the centre has been running for several years and is expected to continue, with both organisations saying the relationship is now firmly established.
The children also labelled the trees they had personally planted. “The labels make it easier for when the children come back to check on the trees’ progress. They are able to see their names and the name of the trees on the tags,” said Mr Doudee. The activity is designed to give the children a sense of ownership over the trees they plant, and a reason to return to the centre in the months that follow to see how the saplings have developed.
At the end of the activity, the children were presented with a certificate for their hard work, Mrs Lloyd said. The Rotary Club of Victoria thanked the National Biodiversity Centre staff for hosting the event and said it expected to repeat the activity next year, with another group of children from homes. The club said the activity is part of a longer programme of youth engagement and environmental education that it plans to expand in 2024, in cooperation with the centre and other partners.
