Native Tree Propagation Project, St. Croix

The US Fish & Wildlife Service on St. Croix, USVI has two National Wildlife Refuges: Sandy Point NWR and Green Cay NWR. In an effort to repopulate these refuges with native tree species that are conducive to the health of robust and biodiverse native ecosystems, this project will collect native tree seeds from the refuge sites and attempt to propagate the seed in a greenhouse (at the St. George Village Botanical Garden on St. Croix). When the seedlings have reached a viable size for planting, they will be replanted in the refuge where they were originally collected.

The volunteers at SGVBG will be following suggested protocols found in various research resources, or creating and recording protocols for processing, planting, and germinating the seeds, so that we can try to discern the most successful ways of growing these native species and share our results with others.

Project Links:

US Fish&Wildlife: Green Cay NWR | Sandy Point NWR

St. George Village Botanical Garden

Native Plants Network Protocol Database
(don't fill in the form - simply select "Virgin Islands" under state/province and click on "Run Search")

A list of native plant reference books

Project Documents:

Target native species list

Seed collection log

Hang in there baby! An anole climbs an orange manjack flower cluster on Green Cay NWR. St. Croix's north shore is in the background.