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A nine-year-old boy hopes to offset some of the damage caused by Storm Ciarán by replanting his tree sapling in the park where it originated from.
Thomas, 9, and his grandmother, Dilys Maletroit, are frequent visitors to Coronation Park, and were sad to learn that half of the park's trees were either lost or damaged in the recent storm.
Five years ago, during one of their visits to Coronation Park, Thomas took home a pinecone and left it outside in his garden.
The pinecone eventually germinated and grew into a sapling.
After hearing about the large number of trees damaged by the storm, Thomas and Dilys came up with a plan to take the 2-foot tall pine sapling back to its roots.
Dilys explained: "My grandson and I would love it to be planted back in the park.”
She shared the idea of replanting the sapling on social media, which was met with a positive reaction.
One islander commented: "Love this, regeneration."
"What a wonderful idea and suggestion! How lovely!" said another.
Dilys added: "It would be lovely to have the plaque to remember the storm.
"The park is a very special place for me as I have been going there since I was a baby."
Pictured: Dilys shared her idea on the 'Jersey Ask? Advise! Advertise!' Facebook group.
Dilys got in touch with the Government's Parks and Gardens team to organise the replanting of the sapling.
Senior Operations Manager, Bruce Labey said: "I was delighted with the offer as we have lost so many trees in Coronation Park...I can’t think of a better way to start the renewal process.
"We are working out how to get the parks open as soon as possible but Coronation is likely to be the last as it has suffered some serious losses of very large trees, many planted after the Great Storm of ‘87 but some from the original 1935 plantings as well – big trees!"
Pictured: Bruce Labey in Howard Davis Park. (James Jeune)
Mr Labey continued: The worst-affected [public park] is Coronation Park at Millbrook. That’s been flattened in certain areas and there are a lot of big pine trees in there.”
He explained it will likely remain closed until December as each tree needs to be individually assessed for damage and potentially taken down if it poses a risk.
"If hanging branches are not removed, they will fall and could kill people, especially small children," said My Labey.
"Everyone in Jersey should be looking up when they go out for walks as there are hanging branches in all sorts of places – this is one of the reasons why storm clearance can take months.
"Once all the clean-up is done we can look at planting the pine sapling. I would love to get this sorted before Christmas as the planting season runs from now to February so Christmas is the peak time."
Pictured: One of the other badly affected areas is the Railway Walk.
The States of Guernsey has given an environmental charity £15k towards replanting new trees after the storm.
But in Jersey, the focus is on the immediate recovery and clean-up process which must be completed before replanting efforts begin, according to the Environment Minster.
Deputy Jonathan Renouf said: “There are many options to consider with regard to supporting environmental recovery via the replanting of trees across the island.
"We will, of course, consider those options and consult widely."
Some parks could remain closed until Christmas due to storm damage
Specialist equipment to clear Railway Walk has arrived in Jersey
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