AN interactive online map of the trees at Val de la Mare arboretum is being created to help Islanders learn more about nature and support conservation work.
Jersey Trees for Life has been given a grant by the Jersey Community Foundation that will finance what the charity described as an “extensive” project.
In November, Storm Ciarán devastated a number of long-standing trees in the arboretum, especially the Australasian Collection, where trees growing since 1975 were upended overnight.
The map will identify and catalogue the trees in the arboretum, providing location co-ordinates, photographs and conservation status. It has already been trialled in one of the arboretum’s ten collections, the Chinese Collection, and the trial was deemed “a huge success” by the charity.
The arboretum is on Jersey Water land but is maintained by Jersey Trees for Life.
Jersey Trees for Life chief executive Alex Morel said: “We’re so grateful to Jersey Community Foundation for once again supporting our work at Val de la Mare, having already contributed generously to the clear-up operation. Having such detailed information and being able to share it is something we’ve wanted for a long time, especially given the community’s love of trees.”
Jersey Community Foundation chief executive Ann Terry added: “Val de la Mare is one of Jersey’s most popular beauty spots and we’re aware of the importance Jersey Trees for Life places upon educating the community. That’s why we’re proud to support this important environmental project.”
The project will be managed by the same specialist who worked on the trial at the Chinese Collection.
