A new grant from the Black Heritage Tree Project/National Geographic Society will fund a two-year effort on St. Croix to inspect, catalog, and map culturally significant trees that have borne witness to Crucian history, particularly the history of enslaved people.
The project, led by African Diaspora archaeologist Alicia Odewale of the University of Tulsa, is in partnership with the Crucian Heritage and Nature Tourism organization. It also includes work in Tulsa, Galveston, and Houston — other “areas of Black freedom.”
“With this project, we have an opportunity to experience Black heritage in a whole new way and reclaim this history before these silent witnesses are cut down and lost forever,” Odewale said in a news release.

People are familiar with a few old, splendid trees on St. Croix — the sprawling baobab in Grove Place and the towering kapok at the St. George Village Botanical Garden. Both are ancient and have witnessed history, especially that of the enslaved population.
According to CHANT Executive Director Frandelle Gerard, around 30 trees have already been identified on St. Croix by so-named “knowledge keepers.” The late Veronica Gordon, conservationist and “weed woman”; University of the Virgin Islands professor and historian Arnold Highfield, who died in 2019; current UVI professor Robert Nicholls; and the late David Hayes, a well-known archaeologist — all documented the archaeology, botany, and history of the island.
CHANT has already started the project, Gerard said, with a list of 30 trees from the book “The Remarkable Big Trees in the Virgin Islands,” written by Nicholls and published in 2006. The community will be invited to add trees that are not on the list but are deemed important by location and significance, she said — “what the trees have borne witness to historically, not just age but also where they are situated.”
Several volunteers have already been assigned to measure and gather information about the trees. Gerard said she hopes to recruit students from summer programs to continue this first step of the project.
At the same time, the community is being encouraged to contact CHANT with trees they are aware of that have witnessed Crucian history, either by location or age. Their stories of the past will be recorded to support the locations of the trees.
“It’s a really great way to engage the community and make people think more about why these trees are important to keep, because so many people are quick to cut them down or they are destroyed by a natural disaster or development,” Gerard said.
Working with Gerard are National Geographic Explorer Justin Dunnavant, an archaeology professor at UCLA; UVI scholar and historian Olasee Davis; and Chenzira David-Kahina, also with UVI, who brings a wealth of cultural knowledge to the project.
Anyone interested in participating in the project should email fgerard@chantvi.org.