Shade from the canopy of mangroves at the Roger Downing Mangrove Boardwalk gave volunteers some reprieve from the hot sun on Sunday morning as they worked to improve the path.
The original 1,200-foot boardwalk is being extended by 990 feet to complete a loop system, according to Unite BVI Foundation Programme Coordinator Alexandra Katra.
This expansion, Ms. Katra explained on Sunday, is the second phase of a project that the Sir Richard Branson-backed foundation is helping fund through a $100,000 donation.
Organisers said the extension is more than half finished, with 550 feet of new boardwalk already in place, but more money may be needed.
“We’re getting close to the end of this budget,” Ms. Katra said. “And then we’re looking for more partners to continue funding the project.”
Post-storm restoration
The project’s first phase started in 2023, when the foundation funded the restoration of the boardwalk following damage from the 2017 hurricanes, according to Ms. Katra.
“We’re preparing the boardwalk for the tourist season so that we also can have cruise ship passengers come and pay a small fee to come and do this adventure,” she said. “And then it will be an economic engine for the mangrove nursery, because they need funds to keep going.”
The boardwalk, which is located near the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College Centre for Applied Marine Studies in Paraquita Bay, will remain free to access for residents, she added.
Volunteers
Organised on Sunday by Unite BVI and the Rotary Club of Tortola, about 50 volunteers worked at repairing the boardwalk and maintaining the surrounding area, which includes a mangrove nursery located near the pathway’s entrance.
“Mangrove is extremely important, because it’s like a full ecosystem, and it mainly protects the coastline from erosion, from the surge of storms,” Ms. Katra said. “And it also provides full habitat for wildlife.”
The nursery began in 2020, after hurricanes Irma and Maria destroyed an estimated 90 percent of the territory’s mature red mangrove trees, said Susan Zaluski, the director of the Centre for Applied Marine Studies at HLSCC.
“It’s a nursery-based approach for growing mangrove seedlings to be used at restoration sites around the British Virgin Islands,” she said.
Her colleague Nia Jeffers, the coastal resilience programme coordinator at HLSCC, explained the significance of mangroves in the territory.
“We know that they have ecological significance, but they also have cultural significance for us as Virgin Islanders,” Ms. Jeffers said, adding, “The fisherfolk rely heavily on the mangroves for protection, but they also use it as a habitat. And, you know, people use the systems for recreation as well.”
Mangrove lagoons, she explained, can also be used as protected areas for vessels during hurricane season.
“So that’s an economic … benefit as well for the business owners and individuals who would have wanted to secure their investments in the space,” Ms. Jeffers said.
The mangrove nursery and boardwalk receive about 500 visitors each year, including school and corporate groups as well as tourists, she said.
Raising funds
As the project budget runs low, the Rotary Club of Tortola has been working on further fundraising, according to its leaders.
Club President Violet Gaul and Vice President Michael Killourhy said anyone who is interested in donating can reach out to the club.
“This is a project that is going to benefit the territory,” Ms. Gaul said. “Tourism — the tourists would be able to come out here and walk that boardwalk. The schoolchildren at HLSCC, they’ll be able to benefit from it. This [area] is the marine centre. So all of that will benefit.”
On Sunday morning, volunteers worked on a variety of tasks, including replacing termite-damaged wooden boards with “Trex” boards made from recycled plastic material. Others installed plastic caps on the trail posts and secured the rope handrail.
Volunteers also carried out work at the mangrove nursery, including landscaping, extracting mud to use for the potted plants, collecting mangrove seeds, and cleaning up the coastal area, according to Ms. Zaluski.
