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Home | Agriculture Ministry establishes Holland Bamboo nursery in St Elizabeth
Recardo Thompson (centre) student at Heart NSTA Ebony Park Academy plants bamboo stems via the vertically method under the watchful supervision of Morris Smith (left), Nursery Worker at Holland Bamboo Nursery and Shanae Marks Bryan (right), Acting Superintendent, Public Gardens Division within the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. Others from far left are Rivaldo Isaacs, Shaquille Lewis and Okera Edwards, students at Heart NSTA Ebony Park Academy. The planting activity took place on Thursday, December 23, 2021 in St Elizabeth at the Holland Bamboo Nursery.
The Public Gardens Division of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries on December 23 planted approximately 100 stem cuttings of the Bambusa vulgaris bamboo species on lands earmarked for the development of the Holland Bamboo nursery in St. Elizabeth.
The nursery forms part of the Holland Bamboo Replanting Project that is being undertaken in collaboration with the Tourism Enhancement Fund and is aimed at assisting with the rehabilitation of the Holland Bamboo Scenic Avenue with the goal of returning it to its former glory.
The nursery is being developed on 1.25 acres of land with the assistance of seven agriculture students from the Heart NSTA Ebony Park Academy in Clarendon. These students will play a role in monitoring and tending to the growth of the over 300 plants throughout the next five to six months for transplanting within the scenic avenue.
Over the years the bamboo population within the scenic avenue has dwindled due to praedial larceny, damage by stray animals such as cattle, fires, as well as natural elements such as droughts. The nursery will be instrumental in ensuring that the avenue’s population of bamboos is consistently replenished and maintained as a national treasure.
The Holland Bamboo Scenic Avenue is approximately 4 kilometres long and portrays a beautifully arched and shaded arrangement of bamboos on both sides of the roadway. It is protected under the Public Gardens Regulation Act and managed by the Public Gardens Division of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.
