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Through our collaboration with Air Mauritius and its One Take-off, One Tree programme, the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation ensures that an endemic or native tree is planted in either Mauritius or Rodrigues each time an Air Mauritius aircraft takes off from Mauritius. More than 89 000 trees have been planted over the past decade under this programme.
Today, we want you to discover the Solitude Endemic Plant Nursery. Spanning over 900m2, it is a very important component of the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation’s conservation works in Rodrigues as almost all the plants which are set out in the Grande Montagne Nature Reserve and the Anse Quitor Nature Reserve go through this nursery before being put in the wild.
It is in this nursery that seeds germinate and develop into seedlings, in a controlled environment. This work is very important as many native and endemic species of Rodrigues have difficulties to propagate naturally as they face enormous pressure from invasive plant species. In the nursery, they are nurtured and looked after daily by a dedicated staff who make sure they grow in the best conditions.
The Solitude Endemic Plant Nursery was set up in 1997 with the funding of the World Bank. Over the years, MWF Rodrigues staff have propagated 57 native and endemic species of plants by seed, seedlings, cuttings and aerial layering for all MWF’s restoration projects. The nursery also propagates plants for other purposes such as donations towards endemic gardens in schools, villages and other organisations.
The nursery is often visited by students from Rodrigues and main island Mauritius. They get the chance to experience some of the conservation work, such as cleaning of seeds for later sowing and potting of plantlets for hardening off in the nursery.
