Massy St. Lucia Team plant 145 Trees
World Desertification and Drought Day

Massy Stores St. Lucia volunteers were out in large numbers on the Corpus Christie holiday, planting trees in various parts of the island. It’s one of the only days when the supermarket is closed and therefore presented an ideal opportunity for community engagement as a team.

The tree planting exercise was organized in collaboration with the island’s Forestry and Lands Department ahead of World Desertification and Drought Day. This observance is an important annual event, to raise awareness and action on land degradation, environmental protection and sustainable development issues. The Forestry Team chose the Marquis River in Babonneau and Paix Bouche, Micoud for tree planning, in keeping with the Department’s mandate to promote river stabilization, soil conservation as well as improve vegetative coverage in parts of the island.

Martin Dorville, Massy Stores Managing Director, was on site with the north team at Marquis. The groupd planted seventy-five trees alongside farmers who work with the retail chain. Mr. Dorville described the experience as a great one for the team, as they gained new insights into the connections between tree planting, the nation’s agricultural food supply and food security.

Lea St. Claire, who manages the Massy New Dock Supermarket in the south said the community outing was enriching. In her words the team welcomed the activity, coming on the heels of a long two-year experience with COVID 19, where such engagements were limited. Her group planted seventy latanye and coffee trees.

Tree planting is an important part of nature’s restorative process. The Department of Forestry encourages the practice to help sustain the island’s natural environment for future generations. Forestry Officer Marvin Edward commended Massy Stores for the company’s overall support of environment sustainability projects in St. Lucia and the team’s volunteerism activity to mark World Desertification and Drought Day.

Contact:

Sariah Best-Joseph

Divisional Head – Marketing and Corporate Communications

Massy Stores (SLU) Ltd.