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Charlotte Amalie
Friday, March 29, 2024
HomeCommentaryOpen forumV.I. Is Lacking Volunteers for the World Green Economy

V.I. Is Lacking Volunteers for the World Green Economy

Dear Source:
There were no volunteers at our Adventure Trail clean-up and only a few members. I would like to believe, taking it into consideration, that this was because of a late public announcement and the message didn’t reach those who may have been interested and available to participate.
[Need to earn some community service hours? This Saturday, January 30, 2016 from 8 a.m. – noon, The St. Croix Hiking Association, a non-profit co-sponsor of the Adventure Trail, will be having a clean-up day.
The trail has been neglected for some time and our plan is to try and clear it in time for this year’s Agriculture and Food Fair, Feb. 13-15, 2016, for public access.
Future goal, as a member I am submitting a proposal for the up-grading of the trail to be accessible for those with disabilities.
The Estate Adventure Nature Trail, located across from the V.I. Department of Agriculture fairgrounds on Queen Mary Highway, winds along a gut and exposes hikers to the island terrain as it was when sugar cane was king.
The funding is through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.
]
The hiking association will continue clearing, repairing and maintaining the trail, so we will be going to announce our next call to earning community service credits in the near future. Speaking as a board member, on three non-profit environmental / conservation / preservation organizations, I can testify to the efforts that have been made and are still being made to bring an awareness to the importance of being good stewards of our island’s green spaces, from so many different perspectives.
Economists approve plans for land developments, only for the short term profit-line benefits, over environmental protections for the future. The long term social and environmental impact will have much more serious consequences in the future from the loss and destruction of green spaces, especially in the urban areas. Using Haiti as an example, although they have deforest their land, their land isn’t covered with concrete and asphalt; the difference there would be that Haiti can quickly reforest and they can adopt a more conservational green economy.
Now before the VI Legislature, a VI Urban Forestry Tree Law Bill:
This law is established to ensure the proper care and preservation of urban trees within the US Virgin Islands, and to ensure that tree canopy cover is maintained and improved in order to protect the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the US Virgin Islands. The spirit of this law is to ensure a healthy, well managed urban forest with high species diversity that peacefully co-exists with human infrastructure to the benefit of the people of the US Virgin Islands
Getting a jump on the World Green Economy, one of our major exports should and could be Green trained tradesmen / persons.
All of the alternative green jobs will require training. The private industries and businesses mentoring in the schools with training in agriculture, forestry and energy to cultivate a more informed and competent work force, in addition, the Government could be administering a green energy career training curriculum in the schools, day and at night for those needing a marketable trade, especially welfare recipients.
Adopting a green economy policy would offer alternative, multi-beneficial, self-sufficient options, opposed to neglecting the environment by over development mainly creating menial jobs in the hotel / resort service industry.
By volunteering, you gain valuable work / job experience, community service credits, valuable letters of recommendations, networking with others with similar goals and objectives, sometimes working alongside seasoned professionals in their discipline, etc. Best of all, you are contributing toward the betterment of the community.
Your time regardless of your task provides $18 per hr. for In-kind grant service matching funds; professionals providing volunteer hours specific to their trade, their time is based on their business charges.
To ask a professional for a donation, sometimes it would be better to ask for some of their time, because that would be worth much more than what they may donate from their pockets, because their volunteer time can be used toward matching fund grants.
Parents, guardians, teachers, administrators, politicians and preachers, " It Takes a Village…"
Ivan Butcher II, St. Croix
 

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