FREEPORT, Grand Bahama - Three winners of the Forestry 'Selfie' Contest were announced as a part of the activities of the Ministry of Environment and Housing’s Forestry Week, March 16-21. Director of the Forestry Unit, Christopher Russell of the Ministry of Environment and Housing, was on hand to assist with the presentations.

Vershante Bradshaw of Beacon School, Vernae Stuart of Eight Mile Rock High School, and Lynnette Burrows of Bartlett Hill Primary School were the three winners of the contest which involved taking a selfie with a native plant. Alice Campbell, Lynnette's mother, accepted on her behalf.

As winners of the contest, the three students were presented with gift certificates from Bethel's Bookstore and Lucayan Nursery, along with a goodie bag from BTC.

Also present during the brief ceremony for the winners were: Donovan Bowe, teacher at the Beacon School; Rickey Saunders, teacher, Eight Mile Rock High School; Gia Walker, principal, Bartlett High Primary School; Mary Missick, Office Manager, Bethel's Book Store; Bernard Davis, Department of Housing; Marvin J. Rolle, Ministry of Education; and Adrian Bethel, owner of Bethel's Book Store.

Following the presentation to the students, Mr. Russell accompanied by Rosemary Nixon-Martin, Senior Assistant Secretary at the Ministry for Grand Bahama and a committee member for the 'Selfie' Contest, and Dr. Joneth Edden, organizer of the competition, went to St. George's High School and C.A. Smith Park to participate in Tree Planting Ceremonies.

Minister for Grand Bahama, the Hon. Dr. Michael Darville, participated in a Tree Planting Ceremony at Beacon School on Monday.

Winners of the 'Selfie' Contest were presented with prizes on Friday at the Ministry for Grand Bahama. The contest was a part of Forestry Awareness Week. The winners were presented with prizes from Bethel's Bookstore, Lucayan Nursery and BTC. Shown from left are: Rickey Saunders, teacher at Eight Mile Rock High; Rosemary Nixon-Martin, Senior Assistant Secretary and committee member; Vershante Bradshaw, student of the Beacon School; Dr. Joneth Edden, competition organizer; Christopher Russell, Director of the Forestry Unit of the Ministry of Environment and Housing; Vernae Stuart, student of Eight Mile Rock High; Adrian Bethel, Bethel's Bookstore; and Donovan Bowe, teacher, Beacon School. Absent from photo is Lynnette Burrows of Bartlett Hill Primary School. (BIS Photo/Andrew Miller)

According to the Proclamation from the Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. Perry Christie, The Bahamas possesses substantial natural forest resources, comprising pine forests, coppice hardwoods and mangrove forests, with approximately 80 per cent of the forest resources on Crown Lands and the remaining 20 per cent on private lands.

The Forestry Act, 2010, which facilitated the establishment of the Forestry Unit that presently falls under the Ministry of the Environment and Housing, was enacted to develop the forest resources of The Bahamas to their maximum potential, through the training of competent forest officers and by application of sound, scientific forest management principles and concepts that promote sustained yield.

In 2012, the Forestry Unit received funding from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations for a two-year Technical Cooperation Programme forestry project titled, "Forestry Management Pilot and Training in Abaco," a joint partnership training programme which is designed to train Bahamians in numerous important forestry management techniques that will ensure that the pine forests of The Bahamas are properly managed to produce the high yield quality products on a sustainable basis.

In addition to working with notable sustainable forestry partners such as the Department of Environmental Health Services, the Bahamas Environment Science and Technology Commission, and Friends of the Environment, the Forestry Unit has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Bahamas National Trust, which authorizes park wardens to serve as forestry officers and assist in the protection and sustainable management of forests in Abaco and Andros.

On an international level, the Forestry Unit is also engaged in a Global Environment Facility Full-sized Project Related to the Land Degradation Focal Area Strategy entitled: Pine Islands - Forest/Mangrove Innovation and Integration (Grand Bahama, New Providence, Abaco and Andros), whose targeted key deliverables under the project include enhancing Sustainable Land and Forest Management (SLM) with the integration of Biodiversity into land use planning, increasing public awareness of the importance and benefits of the sustainable management of land, forest and mangrove biodiversity, and ecosystems services, improving management effectiveness of existing and new forest reserves, strengthening the sustainable management of forestry and coastal areas for people who are dependent on those resources for their livelihood, promoting institutional strengthening initiatives within the Department of Physical Planning, and the enhancement of the maps of the Bahamas National Geographic Information Systems Centre.

A tree planting ceremony was held at St. George's High School on Friday as a part of Forestry Awareness Week. Shown from left with some of the students planting a Spice Tree are: Keith Barr, Principal of the school; Dr. Joneth Edden, Ministry for Grand Bahama; Christopher Russell, Director of the Forestry Unit of the Ministry of Environment and Housing; and Yvonne Pearson, Senior Mistress at the school. (BIS Photo/Andrew Miller)

Annually since 1971, when the 23rd General Assembly of the European Confederation of Agriculture agreed to its observance, World Forestry Day has been celebrated as a means of increasing public awareness among communities about the values, significance and contributions of forests to all life forms, with particular focus on the integral role that they play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to climate change.

In selecting March 21st as the date on which to observe World Forestry Day, a number of factors were considered, inclusive of the fact that it was both the autumnal equinox in the Southern Hemisphere and the vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere. March 16 to 21, 2015 was declared 'Forestry Awareness Week' and Saturday, March 21 as 'World Forestry Day/International Day of Forests in The Bahamas'.