“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” ― Chinese proverb

Youth in Action: Caribbean Philanthropic Alliance Tree Planting Ambassador Programme Launch with 10 Countries

Time for action! Encouraging climate action and environmental awareness among younger Caribbean citizens is the goal of the Tree Planting Ambassadors, who will formally launch their program on Sunday, January 10, 2021. The young Ambassadors will stream the launch, including the simultaneous planting of trees in ten Caribbean countries, live on the Facebook page of the Caribbean Tree Planting Project (CTPP) from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

The ten countries involved in the launch are: Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Belize, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Three of the new Ambassadors were winners of a Tree Planting Competition, launched on June 5, 2020 by the Caribbean Philanthropic Alliance (CariPhilAlliance) in collaboration with the Trees That Feed Foundation. With the theme “It Starts With a Seed,” the goal was to engage young people across the region to plant trees. Under the leadership of Chaz Garraway, a fourth-year student at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the young competitors shared their activities on social media.“

I am so excited about our Tree Planting Ambassador Programme! I spent the first day of the year planting with my three children,” said Shaneka Wallace-Graham, one of the Tree Planting Ambassadors from Jamaica and a competition winner.

The Competition and the Tree Planting Ambassador Program are part of the CTPP, initiated by the CariPhil Alliance in February 2020, aimed at fostering Climate leadership among Caribbean youths. According to Prof Rosalea Hamilton, CariPhilAlliance Chair, “Climate Change is an existential threat to all of us in the Caribbean and, therefore, it is imperative that Caribbean youths understand this threat as well as the importance of their leadership in building awareness and resilience in the region.”

Plans to plant at least one million trees and engage related climate action in at least ten Caribbean countries by 2021 were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic but did not derail the Project or the youthful tree- planting exuberance. In 2020, the CTPP expanded its activities in twenty (20) Caribbean countries and territories. The Ambassadors have an ambitious agenda to mobilize other Tree Planting Ambassadors throughout the Caribbean to plant trees – not only to address climate change challenges, but also to educate and empower vulnerable groups whose livelihoods have been worsened by the pandemic.

The CTTP is supported by the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Action Network. The CGI hosted a “Caribbean Tree Planting: Empowering Youth Climate Action” forum on October 8, 2020 to celebrate the accomplishments of the youths who have won the Competition.

For further information, visit the CTTP Facebook page or email: info@supportroatan.com