Four men were honored for over 123 years of combined service to the Forestry Department. A graduation ceremony was held for 20 participants of an entrepreneurship training program. The Forestry Department is working with pig hunters to develop a plan to address the damage caused by feral pigs in forests.

1. D E PA RT M E N T O F F O R E S T RY S EPT/ O CT 09
E N V I RO N M E N TA L E D U C A T I O N U N I T BU L L E T I N
What’s been going on ?
Men of the Hour !!
Four wonderfully, dedicated men were honored for their long years
of invaluable service to the Forestry Department on the 10th of
September. The delightful awards ceremony was held at the CSA
Centre and was the first of its kind.
From left to right stands Mr. Joseph Hilaire, Mr. Ananias Verneuil, Mr.
Donald Anthony and Mr. Peter Vidal; whose combined service to
the department is that of 123 years.
In attendance to pay homage to these fine retirees were most of the forestry staff from the chief,
deputy chief, assistant chief , forest officers and forest workers from the various ranges. Also present
from the Ministry of Agriculture were the deputy permanent secretary Mr. Danley Auguste, Ms. Griffith
of the Accounts Department and Ms. Carasco the assistant secretary.
Though these fine gentlemen all look forward to their retirement, this does not mean that they will be
idle, as each is already involved in personal ongoing projects. Retirement just affords them more time
to attend to these.
They will be missed and this much was expressed by various staff but they have assured us that they
will be available should we need any consultations. May those of us who remain emulate the joy
and passion with which they carried out their duties.
We wish them success and God speed. Cheers to the men of the hour !!
H o o r a y !!
On the evening of September 24th the Entrepreneurial / Small Business Develop-
ment and capacity Building Training Programme facilitated by IICA, the EU and the
Ministry of Agriculture culminated with a graduation ceremony at the Fox Grove
Inn . Twenty participants of the La Pointe community of Mon Repos were thrilled to
receive their certificates. These participants are also members of the Superior
Brooms and Mauby Production Co-op. They were pleased that finally some due
attention was being paid to them. Thanks was especially expressed to Dr. Curt
Delice (IICA Agribusiness Specialist), Mr. Martin Weeks (workshop facilitator)
and Ms. Brenda Wilson (Community Development Officer) for their tireless ef-
forts in seeing this training come to fruition.
Forestry’s Department ACFO Lyndon John was on hand to congratulate and
encourage the participants on a job well done being that there exist a long
standing association between the Forestry Department and the Latanye and
Mauby farmers of the La Pointe community. Congratulations !!
Phone: 468-5648/5
E-mail your suggestions/ ideas to: Done by: Nicole La Force
eeunit@gmail.com

2. D E PA RT M E N T O F F O R E S T RY S EPT/ O CT 09
E N V I RO N M E N TA L E D U C A T I O N U N I T BU L L E T I N
What’s been going on ?
Are you aware that having their fun and sport.
there are lots of Pigs ! Pigs ! Everywhere ! This is just the beginning and
feral pigs in our for- many more meetings will be held.
est reserves here in begin the development of a strategic Thus far the pig hunters have pro-
St. Lucia. Feral pigs eradication plan of these pigs. vided valuable information.
you say ? Yes wild Although they say that pig meat is
pigs which are causing quite a stir with A lot was learnt from these candid talks; sweet, that may be so but not the
the damage they do to our forest. from hunting methods (traps , dogs and damage they do.
• Pollute our water ways (rivers). guns primarily), to the mapping out of
• Digging up and eating sapling the extensive areas where these feral We’ll keep you updated !!
roots. pigs tread.
• Destroying soil structure.
• Killing other fauna forest species. These pig hunters are eager to assist as
• Destroying farmers’ crops near the this is all fun and sport for them. Some
forest boundaries. boasted of catching as many as 14
For this and other reasons the Forestry wild pigs on a single hunt.
Department, particularly the Wildlife Many issues are left to be ironed out,
Unit held a conference in September such as; should there be a hunting sea-
with more than 26 pig hunters from son, should there be complete eradica-
around St. Lucia. tion or their population maintained at a
minimal threshold where hunters can
The main aim of this conference was to continue
Since 1981, World Food Day celebrated every Achieving Food Security Observance of the day, with a week of activi-
16th October has adopted a different theme each ties climaxing with a food fair and exhibition at
year, in order to highlight areas needed for action in Time of Crisis the Derek Walcott Square was enjoyed by
and provide a common focus. Here in St. Lucia we seem to be faring many.
This year’s theme was an extremely serious one well. However, with accumulative problems EE-Unit staff of the Forestry Department was
and we as a small island nation should not take its such as climate change, desertification, eco- present to educate the public on many of our
import for granted. nomic recession and don’t forget our pro- local herbs and our seeds used in cooking and
Millions of people around the world don’t have pensity to import we should be wary, our handicrafts.
access to clean drinking water or a balanced good fortune will not hold out forever. All in all the activities were a success and we
healthy meal. will continue to improve.
We should take seriously the drive to grow
more of our own food and eat what we
grow. Every home should try to have a
backyard garden, no matter how small. Use
can be made of recycled materials like old
tires, bathtubs, jerry cans etc.
To think that with a simple act like that you
would be protecting the environment, cut-
ting down on the import bill ,eating health-
ier organically grown food, exercising and
don’t forget the pleasure in the leisure of it.
Phone: 468-5648/5
E-mail your suggestions/ ideas to: Secure ourselves today and avoid the fear of
eeunit@gmail.com hunger and starvation tomorrow ! Done by: Nicole La Force.

3. D E PA RT M E N T O F F O R E S T RY S EPT/ O CT 09
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What’s been going on ?
National Forest Demarcation and Bio-Physical Resource Inventory Project:
Preliminary Findings
Forest Reptiles and New Vegetation Classification
Amphibians
The preliminary findings from the re- The research of botanist Roger Graveson
has yielded the preliminary:
search of Dr. Jenny Daltry and her team
are as follows: Major Categories include:
Whistling Frog ♦ 28 species of lizards, snakes and ♣ Natural Forest, Non-
frogs have been recorded in Saint Lu- natural or Plantation
cia’s forests. Forest and Non - Forest.
♦ At least 7 species occur only in Saint Lucia (nationally
endemic). ♣ Natural Forest includes:
♦ 9 alien species have been introduced. • Littoral Evergreen Forest and
♦ 6 species (3 native) are extinct . Shrubland
♦ The most abundant and widespread native species are • Semi-evergreen Seasonal For-
Saint Lucia Anole (Anolis luciae) & Johnstone’s Whistling est
Frog (Eleutherodactylus johnstonei). • Mangrove
♦ High quality (mature, intact) forests support more native • Lower Montane Rainforest
species. • Freshwater Swamp Forest
♦ Degraded forests contain more alien invasive species. • Montane Rainforest
♦ Many of the native species are threatened with extinction • Rainforest Deciduous Sea-
and Alien invasive species are their greatest threat . sonal Forest
♦ The worst alien invasive species are the : • Cloud Montane Rainforest
♣ Plantation or Non-natural
Forest
& ♣ Non– Forest includes:
• Elfin Shrub lands
• Herbaceous Swamp (seasonal
Cane toad Green Iguana. or permanent)
• Aquatic Herbaceous Vegeta-
♦ It is recommended that we: tion.
1. Educate everyone!! • Littoral Rock and Cliff Vegeta-
2. Secure and Conserve mesic forest. tion.
3. Update Wildlife Protection Act.. • Littoral Unconsolidated Sand
Vegetation.
4. Control invasive species.
5. Conduct applied research to guide • Littoral Scrub, including Cacti
and monitor management of wildlife • Fumarole Vegetation
Saint Lucia Anole • Grassland, with or without a
few trees or shrubs.
Phone: 468-5648/5 Photos : Courtesy of Roger Graveson & Forestry Department
E-mail your suggestions/ ideas to:
eeunit@gmail.com
Done by: Nicole La Force.