Friends December Newsletter

In our December newsletter we consider the quote attributed to Warren Buffet: “Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”  It applies literally to planting trees on our shores and figuratively to protecting sea turtle nests, looking for ways to address Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD), and community outreach like education, advocacy and events.

In the past month, our trails crew, volunteers, and partners from Iowa State University planted 750 mangroves in the first phase of an Iowa State University and Friends of Virgin Islands National Park collaboration on a large-scale mangrove restoration project in the Annaberg and Leinster Bay areas. The goal of the project is to re-establish sustainable mangrove communities that were devastated by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017. In total 1500 trees will be planted by the end of November 2023.

In this season of thanks and giving we are grateful for the joy and success of the Paddle The Park and Villas For the Park fundraisers, for the 65 volunteers who have monitored our beaches daily since July for sea turtle nesting activity, for the excited reaction everyone has had to the reintroduction of the Reef Bay Hike, and for the engagement of our local schools in our School Kids In The Park program. The 2022/23 season is off to a strong start!

Read the full newsletter here — https://conta.cc/3XX1rS3