Every year, the Disney Conservation Fund recognizes the dedication and hard work of individuals and groups working to conserve wildlife and protect wild places around the world.

Melvin Smith, one of the 20 individuals and teams honored in 2020, joins the ranks of more than 200 passionate, dedicated Disney Conservation Heroes who have been recognized in more than 50 countries around the world to date.

Melvin, a naturalist by birth, identified 400 new wild plant species on the island that had previously gone undocumented. He also contributed to the restoration of the Sandy Beach coastline by growing 800 individual plants in his own nursery to help revegetate the coast.

Praising the work of the naturalist, Country Manager and Forest Management Advisor for the Caribbean Americas’ Fauna and Flora International (FFI), Adams Toussaint explains that upon discovering a small mountain-top population of pencil cedar trees, an endemic species nearly extinct in the wild, Melvin cultivated new saplings through patience, and a fierce determination to bring this species back from the brink of extinction.

“This species was recently discovered at the end of a cliff at Petit Piton. Mr. Smith single-handedly collected samples of the germplasms and is now able to grow over 1500 plants in his nursery. In its original habit, there were about 60 plants left, so that was the world’s repository. Now we are able to grow these plants and restore the species in the wild. Saint Lucians will also be able to use this plant as a Christmas tree in the tradition of how it was used in the past,” Mr Toussaint said.

Recipient of the Disney Conservation Award, Melvin Smith expressed gratitude to all parties who contributed to his success. The conservationist is not only assisting in the conservation of rare species, but also hopes to teach and inspire others to appreciate and care for Saint Lucia’s ecosystem.