Oranjestad, St. Eustatius – The next time you are near a big shady tree on a hot day, go and stand in the sun for five minutes. Then go and stand in the shade of the tree. Notice the difference? On a hot day, the difference could be as much as fifteen degrees!

Now scale this up to an entire island. Increased tree cover, especially around man-made surfaces such as roads or concrete buildings which absorb lots of heat can cool entire regions, counteracting what is known as the Heat Island effect.

This has two major advantages; firstly, it cuts down on energy use; a cooler island means air conditioners, fridges and freezers have to do less work, so use less electricity. This is beneficial because it means that less diesel is burned for fuel in the generators, and also because it means you have a smaller electricity bill.

Secondly, a cooler island means that the temperature differential between the land and the sea is smaller, meaning that high air pressure around the island drives less rain away from the land towards the sea. This, combined with cooler air which holds more moisture means that more rain is likely to fall. When that rain does fall it soaks into the groundwater instead of just evaporating, and becomes accessible to plants and humans through wells.

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