THE Forestry Department has praised the continued efforts of the Sandals and Beaches hotel chain in assisting the department with planting trees across Jamaica.

While addressing volunteers from the resort chain’s Ocho Rios region who turned up to plant more than 300 trees at the Bogue Estate section of the Dunn’s River Watershed in St Ann last Saturday, joining Jamaicans marking National Tree Planting Day, the department’s Forest Technician and Client Services Representative Sophia Gooden-Morris expressed gratitude.

Undertaken as a regional activity, Sandals said in a release yesterday that the tree-planting exercise was consistent with it’s environmental stewardship programme.

According to the release, more than 20 team members from Beaches Ocho Rios, Sandals Royal Plantation and Sandals Ochi Beach Resort, armed with pick axes, machetes and other tools, spent the day in the watershed preparing land space and planting the valuable trees.

“We are pleased that corporate Jamaica, especially the Sandals group, is willing to partner with us in our efforts,” Gooden-Morris noted.

The Forestry Department representative said she hoped that the partnership would continue in order to increase the number of trees in the watershed.

Meanwhile, environment health and safety manager for Sandals Ochi, Gavin Palmer, reiterated the importance of trees to the country and his company’s efforts to be at the forefront of the drive to keep Jamaica green.

“Trees provide tremendous environmental benefits affecting local climate: reduction of air pollution and soil and water protection. Getting 30 per cent of Jamaica planted with trees by 2020 is an achievable goal and we will play our part in getting there,” Palmer said.

He further pledged the Ocho Rios region’s commitment to preserving the environment, stating: “We are always happy to be a part of community activities, especially those pertaining to the natural habitat.”