Sandy Spit is a picturesque little island located off of Little Jost Van Dyke over in the British Virgin Islands. Comprised only of sand and a handful of trees, it’s been a popular spot over the years for boaters, sunbathers, photographers and people simply looking to have a good time. But sadly when Hurricane Irma blew through back on September 6th – two months ago today – it took all of the island’s trees along with it. And now two St. John residents are looking to fix that.
Meet Monica and Connor. The couple traveled over to Sandy Spit last weekend with one purpose – to replant a group of coconut palms in an effort to restore Sandy Spit to its pre-hurricane state.
“I came up with the idea and we weren’t really sure about it, so I did a little research and Connor went to St. John Hardware and they helped tell us what would work best,” Monica told me last week “They asked what it was for and Connor told them we wanted to replant Sandy Spit, and they gave us the soil for free, which was amazing ! So huge shoutout to Kate Swan!”
The couple dug a few hole to see what was below the soil and found mostly saltwater at first. After a few more tries, they found a spot with soil underneath and no water. They placed the rooted coconut palms in the shape of a heart, added a mixture of soil and manure, and then watered each. They grabbed some sticks and pieces of driftwood found around the island to complete their heart.
Monica is asking anyone in the area of Sandy Spit to stop by and water the baby palms if you are able. There’s been a decent amount of rain falling, but every little bit helps.
So a big thank you for Monica and Connor for this wonderful act of kindness. It takes a village folks, and together we will all get through this. 🙂
Monica and Connor – next time can I carry your shovel for you? 🙂 Great job!! I’d love to help out with other St John plantings, for example with crape myrtles, but received feedback they might not be welcome b/c they aren’t indigenous.
Made me cry. Thank you both.
Monica,
When your mom, Jeannine and I get there in the Spring, you and Connor will have to take us over there to see how much they have grown.
Great idea : )
me and the family we talking about sandy spit the other day…went there a couple of years ago with rock hopping charter…its awesome some part of it still survived ( we were thinking totally wiped out )…thanks for planting the trees…we gotta get back on island!!
Gorgeous.
Went there with Captain John Brandi.
Such a wonderful thing to do.
Thank you.
Thank you so much for doing that! These incredible stories coming out of the islands in the aftermath of this storm are so inspiring! No wonder we all love that place so much!! Good souls doing good work! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts! We’ll never cruise past or stop by and not think of you!