The Department of Agriculture launched its Sustainable Snack Initiative at the Ciceron Secondary School, with partnership support from St. Lucia Electricity Services Limited (LUCELEC) –demonstrating unwavering commitment to environmental stewardship, youth empowerment, and educational advancement. The goal of the new programme is to promote healthy eating through the planting of local fruit trees that will provide students with nutritious alternatives to processed and sugary snacks.
As part of the initiative, students and volunteers planted a variety of local fruit trees, including soursop, guava and ‘fat poke’ and breadnut. The trees serve a dual purpose – to provide fresh, healthy snacks and to stabilize the school’s slopes, contributing to environmental sustainability. Trevor Ghirawoo, Agriculture Teacher at Ciceron Secondary welcomed the groundbreaking initiative, stating:
“We are extremely pleased to be working with LUCELEC and the Ministry of Agriculture to get some fruit trees planted. We believe that the fruit plants when they grow will provide students with some fresh, local fruits which they can enjoy and that can be added to whatever they have to create students who are healthy because we have a problem on our island with the kind of foods our students consume. We want to promote sustainability and growth and good health among our students,” he said.
Range Officer for the Northern Range in the Forestry Division, Rosemond Justin says the tree planting drive by LUCELEC volunteers and its partners, including the Form Four Agriculture students has a broader global impact as outlined by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“This tree planting initiative aligns with several Sustainable Development goals. We have SDG 2 which is “Zero Hunger” and because of these fruit trees that we are planting; we are contributing to food security. Also, we have SDG 3 which is “Good Health and Wellbeing” – we are encouraging a healthy diet by incorporating fruits in the diet. SDG 4, “Quality Education” through the maintenance of these fruit trees the students engage in experiential learning. You also have SDG 13 which is “Climate Action” – these trees facilitate carbon sequestration and contribute to soil conservation which is a sustainable climate action strategy.”
Students Shyann Mayers and Darnell Richard, who donned garden boots expressed their enthusiasm for the project, “it’s extremely important because it can help me create my own garden at home. I feel amazing contributing to the activity today,” and “I feel amazing participating in the activities today. It’s a good thing because if students don’t have things in their bag to eat, they might go and pick in the tree to fill their belly.”
LUCELEC’s involvement in the project is driven by its commitment to promoting healthy lifestyles and environmental stewardship. Bernardia Regis, Corporate Communications Assistant at LUCELEC, explained:
“Tree planting exercises are especially important to LUCELEC because it helps us reduce carbon emissions. The more that we can get planted is the more it can reduce the carbon dioxide in our environment. We hope with planting trees, local fruits such as fat poke and sop that our kids will prefer eating that over imported goods and the not so healthy snacks.”
Thirty LUCELEC volunteers from the company’s Administrative and Technical divisions participated in the event, supporting students in their efforts to choose healthy, local alternatives to processed foods.