Carnival buys locally grown palm trees for Celebration Key

Forty percent of the palm trees came from small-scale community growers.

'The Grand Bahama community's enthusiastic participation has been instrumental in achieving this milestone,' said Raquel Mota, senior port services manager, Carnival Corp. The 'Plant A Tree' initiative was launched in October 2023 and its first-phase target is already met.

Mota congratulated and thanked the growers, adding that Carnival hopes to partner with as many Grand Bahamians as possible moving toward the opening of Celebration Key.

Tree planting event

The company hosted a tree planting event on Wednesday to celebrate top contributors to the initiative in the areas of 'Best Quality Plants’ and ‘Most Plants Provided.’ Winners received project shirts and dinner vouchers, and will be invited to visit Celebration Key to see their efforts flourishing onsite.

Leslie Saunders, who has sold more than 200 plants to Carnival Corp. through the initiative so far, said: 'We are very thankful for this initiative as it has allowed us to profit from working on the land. I want to thank Carnival for believing in Bahamians and supporting the efforts of local growers in a meaningful way. It is also a source of pride to know that the development will be beautified by native plants, born and raised in Grand Bahama.'

Second phase

While the first phase focused on palm trees, the second phase, starting May 9, will hone in on native plants including gumbo-limbo, seagrape, silver and green buttonwood, green island ficus and bougainvillea.

'We are looking for plants with good foliage and roots, among other quality requirements so bring us your best green thumb efforts,' Mota told local growers.

In all, Carnival is seeking 200,000 locally grown plants to adorn Celebration Key.