NGO doubles plant propagation on Praslin, calls for a helping hand |30 July 2018

While most attention is on plastics, one environment NGO is still planting trees in an effort to buffer up wetlands and mountain peaks against erosion.

Terrestrial Restoration Action Society of Seychelles (TRASS) has this year almost tripled its production of plants from 10,000 last year to more than 30,000 which include mangroves and other plant species.

“We are currently doing propagation of mangroves species in our nursery and then transplant them out in the wetlands, which is a first trial in Seychelles and a technique we have come up with to enhance production,” says Marc Jean-Baptiste, a volunteer of TRASS.

Laying in bed of muds, the mangroves also include ‘mangliye zonn’, which is found on Mahé and Curieuse and is being introduced on Praslin.

The group, which has been actively restoring the vegetation on Praslin for the past ten years, relies heavily on volunteers to help plant the seedlings and other plant materials.

“Currently, we are actively doing restoration work on two wetland areas on Praslin, namely Cap Samy next to CCL quarry and ‘Kot Dauban’ at Anse Gouvernement , and we also regularly travel to Curieuse where we have a planting site there as well.”

With their nursery of over 26 metres long and 8 metres wide at Fond B’Offay booming with greenery, the team is now desperate for more helping hands.

“We wish more people could feel the urge to restore degraded environment. It is not one person or one group’s responsibility, it should be a collective effort,” states Sharon Meriton-Jean, the communication representative of the group.

The group advertises their activities on social media where they are followed by over two thousand people.

The weekly events are advertised as child friendly lasting for two hours only.

With a caption that says ‘Playing in the mud! And plant what you carry!!’ it seems unlikely that one would pass this occasion to be a child again.

30,000 plants is an ambitious dream. Can they make it! It all depends if you give them a hand.

If you are interested in joining the group one Saturday, please contact them on trass.seychelles@gmail.sc or by calling 2542536. You can also follow them on their Facebook page on https://www.facebook.com/TerrestrialRestorationActionSocietyofSeychelles