Wellbeing: Montserrat National Trust Botanical Gardens
At Montserrat National Trust Botanical Gardens, you can see and smell some of Montserrat’s native plants, find out how to help biodiversity, and relax in nature.
The gardens are looked after by the Montserrat National Trust, which helps protect nature across the island.
Nursery
In amongst the beautiful flowers, you can find a special place where plants are grown from seeds: the nursery.
Young plants are looked after carefully until they can be planted outside. You can even buy plants from the nursery to care for in your own yard or garden.
One of the plants grown in the nursery is Pribby. This special plant only grows in Montserrat. You can help protect Pribby by planting some in your yard or garden.
Medicinal plants
There is a special medicinal plant area in the Botanical Gardens too.
Medicinal plants are used in teas and medicine to help us feel healthier and happier.
Food plants
There are also food plants here, like banana trees, five fingers, coconut palms, and Noni trees. How many can you spot in the Botanical Gardens?
The herbarium
As well as growing new plants, the Montserrat National Trust also looks after the remains of plants. These have been carefully preserved for scientists to research.
The specimens are stored carefully in a special place called a herbarium, so that people can learn from them in the future.
Animals in the Botanical Gardens
The plants growing in the Botanical Gardens attract lots of amazing animals. Some can only be found in Montserrat, like two kinds of lizard, Plymouth Anoles and Montserrat Ameivas.
Hummingbirds, butterflies and bees visit to feed on nectar from the garden’s flowers. They can pollinate the flowers, meaning more can grow.
Activity: Colouring sheet
Antillean Crested Hummingbird
Activity: Colouring sheet
Bananaquit
Activity: Colouring sheet
Montserrat Ameiva
Activity: Colouring sheet
Plymouth Anole
Booklet: Biodiversity Toolkit
Find out more about the project here.
