Restoring Barbuda’s native vegetation and natural beauty

Barbuda is paradise. But like nearly every corner of the globe, it has also had its environmental challenges. Barbuda Ocean Club is on a mission to help restore environmentally sensitive parts of the island and protect this paradise for generations of Barbudans and guests to come.

Due to 50 years of selling Barbuda’s sand off the island, a practice known as sand mining, 90% of the native vegetation on Barbuda’s dunes had been effectively wiped out. Non-indigenous invasive plants and animals, both of which were likely brought to the island more than a century ago, have also taken a toll on the island’s natural flora.

"The nursery has salvaged and propagated more than 5,000 native plants so far.”

Acacia, for example, is a highly invasive, non-native plant that outcompetes dune vegetation. In doing so, it eliminates the protection and habitat that a diversity of native dune plants provides.

To restore the island’s natural, lush beauty, Barbuda Ocean Club created a native plant nursery. Led by local agronomist David Shaw, the nursery has salvaged and propagated more than 5,000 native plants so far. Among our proudest achievements is the rare Dancing Lady Orchid which was thought to be extinct until a few years ago. Today, there are more than 500 examples of the flower on Barbuda. At least 20,000 other native plants have also been grown and replanted.

Because we believe environmental sustainability and economic sustainability go hand-in-hand, the nursery employs 35 Barbudans who grow local species and travel the island removing invasive and non-indigenous plants.

Barbuda Ocean Club is passionately committed to the local community and the environment. The native plant nursery is one example of how we are working to meet that commitment.