In early 2021 Tropic Ventures Research & Education Foundation partnered with Naples Botanical Garden in Naples, Florida, to prioritize efforts to conserve on-site species most at risk from extinction through seed banking, multiple off-site backup collections, development of propagation protocols, assessment of extinction risk for the IUCN Red List, and out-planting on the site. The Association of Zoological Horticulture provided a grant towards this endeavor. AZH is a non-profit membership organization dedicated to the advancement of horticulture in zoos, zoological parks, botanic gardens, and aquariums.
Architect David Henebry, who has been volunteering his time and building skills at Las Casas since 2018, designed the nursery, and in March 2021 arrived on a 10 day trip, and with a team effort including 3t, Axel Rúa, & Diego Marvel, a strong, hurricane-resistant shade-tree nursery, and a small soils shed came into being, along with a 10’ x 10’ seed nursery, which is still in progress.
As a result of this partnership, the Botanic Gardens Conservation International via the Franklinia Foundation, & the Global Tree Campaign have started a new collaboration with us to survey for endangered endemic trees of Puerto Rico. We are over the moon about this.
BGCI is a registered charity and company in England and Wales, and in the U.S. as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. www.bgci.org
Chad Washburn, Director of the Naples Botanical Garden, will join us in the field later in 2021.
