BNT Members, Atlantis, & Rotary Join Forces for World Wetlands Day Mangrove Planting

February 5th, 2025 – Nassau, Bahamas 

The Bahamas National Trust (BNT) invited its members to join forces with Atlantis, the Rotary Club of East Nassau, and other partners this past weekend for a mangrove planting in honor of World Wetlands Day 2025. 

The environmental nonprofit, the community service organization, and other volunteers combined their efforts to plant 700 red mangroves at Bonefish Pond National Park on Saturday – 500 of which were donated by Atlantis. The Hon. Alfred Sears, Minister of Immigration and National Insurance, also participated. 

This recent mangrove planting supports ongoing restoration efforts for the national park, which is a vital wetland ecosystem that has historically been negatively impacted by the likes of dumping and other illegal activities. 

World Wetlands Day is an annual global event on February 2 that recognizes the importance of wetlands, raises awareness about the threats facing them, and encourages active solutions to save them. These critical ecosystems have an invaluable role to play in the fight against climate change, helping to drastically reduce carbon emissions. Mangrove wetlands, in particular, also act as nurseries for many of The Bahamas’ economically and culturally significant marine species, like spiny lobster; and provide protection from storm surges for surrounding communities.

This year, the world celebrated World Wetlands Day under the theme, “Protecting Wetlands for Our Common Future.”

“With this year’s theme, the BNT thought it fitting not only to involve our membership base, but to collaborate with the Rotary Club of East Nassau in an activity that drives home the point that we’re all in this together, and the work we do is for our common good,” said BNT President Joanne Smith. “As people of impact, we all want to help in this fight against climate change.” 

In total, more than 140  BNT members and volunteers participated in the weekend’s collaborative effort at Bonefish Pond. For more than a decade, the BNT has been leading restoration activities at the national park. These include things like mangrove plantings, coastal cleanups, and invasive species removal.

BNT Senior Science Officer Lindy Knowles said, “This is year 15 of the BNT’s 30-year plan for restoring this area. Today, we’re coming together to plant mangroves that are roughly between six months and a year old; and we’re hopeful all the work we’re doing will help get this area restored in less than the 30 years we have allocated for it.”

To learn more about the BNT’s mangrove restoration efforts, visit our mangrove conservation webpage at https://bnt.bs/mangroves.