Saipan uses Vetiver to protect its reefs!

According to our friends at the Saipan Tribune, "fifteen volunteers from three groups, along with staff from the Division of Environmental Quality and Coastal Resources Management Office, spent Saturday morning planting 90 plants within the Laolao Revegetation Project site.

The Volunteer Planting Day was part of a continuing restoration effort, started in 2005, to help reduce soil erosion, which causes sediment to wash into Laolao Bay and damage its coral reefs.

The Laolao Revegetation Project intends to plant over 1,000 saplings and 2,500 linear feet of Vetiver throughout the upland planting area. This volunteer tree planting was a way to show the community how important these projects are for Saipan.

DEQ Field Coordinator Nick Swaim demonstrated proper planting techniques and fertilizer placement. Six native plant species were used, propagated by DLNR Forestry at its nursery in Kagman.

Volunteers from the community included members from Teen Talk, NMC's Phi Theta Kappa, and NMC's Environmental Natural Resources Organization. The volunteers carried plants and tools as they hiked up to the planting site. Along the way they passed rows of Vetiver propagated at CREES Agriculture that had been planted by Tropical Gardens Landscapers. The planting was spread across two of the 16 sites in the project area. Fortunately, the volunteers were able to plant in the sites that boast the best views of the bay.

Volunteer Lorremel Hocog said, 'It was a fun exercise, and I'm doing it for a good cause. So it's worth every effort, and the view is amazing.'"