KINGSTON, Jamaica – The 2023 National Labour Day Project will be a national tree planting exercise along Highway 2000 in the vicinity of Hartlands Road.

Jamaicans will observe Labour Day, a public holiday on Tuesday, May 23.

The target for the national project is 10,000 trees.

Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia Grange made the announcement Tuesday during a ministerial statement in the House of Representatives.

She said groups from corporate Jamaica, as well as other civil society groups, schools, among others, will participate in in the tree-planting exercise. Entry to the work site will be via Hartlands Road from Old Harbour Road with no access from the highway.

Grange noted that the national project will be led by Prime Minister Andrew Holness, Opposition leader Mark Golding and portfolio ministers of the leading ministries.

She explained that the project is being arranged in plots of approximately half hectare in size. Corporate entities with large groups (50 or more) will be assigned a plot and will be able to brand their plot for the day and will be able to provide hospitality for the volunteers planting trees in their plot.

Grange said the Forestry Department as well as the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries will make thousands of trees available to organisations and the general public across Jamaica.

“This will include the popular trees grown in each parish,” she said.

As is customary, Labour Day activities will end with a national concert. This year it will be a Praise and Worship Gospel Concert at Emancipation Park from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm. Artistes include Minister Kevin Downswell, Richie Stephens, Petra Kaye, Jai Kingston, Minister Howdy, Minister Treasure, Prince Saj, Oshane Mais, Latoya Hamilton, Kerron Clarke and Kukudo.

Meanwhile, Grange told the House that the drive towards planting three million trees that was first announced by the prime minister in 2019 was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and currently stands at 2.5 million.

“The plan is to use Labour Day 2023 to re-ignite the nation to strive for the three-million goal by the summer of 2023 through the Parish Tree Initiative, which will bolster the target with the planting of trees which are popular, some endemic in respective parishes,” said Grange.

These trees and the respective parishes are as follows:

a) St Thomas – Artocarpus altilis – Breadfruit

b) Portland – Hernandia catalpifolia – Water Mahoe

c) St Mary – Annatto

d) St Ann – Calophyllum calaba Santa Maria

e) Trelawny – Antirhea jamaicensis – Gold Spoon

f) St James – Ceiba pentandra – Cotton Tree

g) Hanover – Ormosia jamaicensis – Red Nickel

h) Westmoreland – Roystonia princeps – Royal Palm

i) St Elizabeth – Haematoxlylum campechianum – Logwood

j) Manchester – Ocotea staminea – Spice wood

k) Kingston – Tabebuia serratifolia – Yellow Poui

l) St Andrew – Swietenia mahogonii – West Indian Mahogany m)Clarendon – Peltophorum linnaei (Now Coulteria linnei) – Brazilleto n) St Catherine – Lignum Vitae

o) Portmore (treated as a separate Parish) – Cordia Sebestena L – Scarlet cordia