I have just come back to Ochi from Treasure Beach and I know that people lost buildings and roofs but they can be repaired thank God. Here are some of the things that can't be replaced that I will miss...
The sand dune at Olde Wharf
The ancient huge guinep tree at the Billy's Bay fisherman's beach
The two huge acacia trees at Lyric
The tamarind tree at Olde Wharf
The plum tree behind the Maureen's shop and......
All the sea grape trees from Great Bay to Fort Charles as a whole generation of children won't get to eat a single sea grape.

Oh no, not the two lovely old trees at Lyric! I will miss them too. It is time to start planting back trees, even here in Mandeville - the place looks like a concrete city now...so sad.

I think we should all give each other gifts of trees for the next year, for birthdays, Christmas, etc...better yet - invite people down to Treasure Beach and the south coast to have tree planting parties.

This is the time not only to re-build, but to re-plant in an even more awesome way!

that's a a brilliant idea

I have contacted the Forestry Department to purchase Neem Trees to donate to the Treasure Beach and surrounding area - or whoever would like for that matter. Unfortunately, at this time they are having a tree planting program and are short of Neem in particular. There will be an abundance available in March, so unfortunately we will have to wait till then. The neem tree in particular has thousands of wonderful properties, from fodder for your goats, to medicinal healing, lumber and coal and many more. An excellent site if you would like to read more on the Neem tree is:
http://www.neemfoundation.org/enviro.htm

The Neem Tree (Azadirachta Indica) is a native of India. Every part of the tree is useful, has medicinal, cosmetic and pest inhibiting properties.
The Bark is used for cosmetics, health care products and medicinal preparations.
The leaves are medicinal
The kernel of the neem fruit is crushed to yield an oil which is used chiefly in pest controlling preparations and also in medicinal, cosmetic and health care products. The residue after crushing the kernel is neem cake, which is an excellent organic fertilizer.
Even the twigs of the tree are used as toothbrushes for dental hygiene.
Small wonder that scientists have yet to come across a more beneficial tree!

The evergreen, perennial tree can survive up to from 200 to 300 years, if not cut down.

The neem tree can be lopped to reduce shading and to provide fodder and mulch.

Great info, Sarah. I've copied the info and posted it in the Road to recovery thread as well.

Good news: We'll be getting our trees as early as January. Did I mention that under a full grown neem tree it is 10 degrees C less than the surrounding temperature, great cover for building fish pots! Extra good quality: the neem is a very fast growing trees.

Beg ya one nuh?!?!?! (or maybe two)

I've checked out this site, www.neemdirect.com, they have different neem products for skin care and herbal supplements. They have pretty good information about Neem and what it is useful for.