In 2014 The Levy Preserve developed its own native plant nursery. It functions in two parts: The Lath House and the Open Air Nursery. These two together form the working parts of the Conservation Horticulture program.
The nursery program works to fulfil Target 8 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation where “At least 75 percent of threatened plant species in ex-situ collections, preferably in the country of origin, and at least 20 per cent available for recovery and restoration programmes.”
The Lath House is a 120 m2 cedar structure with ~50 m2 of bench space. It was built to assist in the germination of native species. Natives species in The Bahamas generally need some level of shade to grow after germination similar to the conditions they experience at the forest floor in a system with a closed canopy.
Here we grow, from seed, as many endemic and native species as we can for the living collections at the Preserve and for restoration and mitigation projects on Eleuthera and throughout the country. Once plants have reached a certain size they are stepped up to larger pots and moved to the open-air Nursery.
If you would like to see the nursery and purchase native plants please enquire at the gift shop or online. Contact us and we can provide a list of species available at the time at what sizes and costs. Plants can be palletized and shipped anywhere in the country within a few days. There is no shipping of plant material outside of The Bahamas.
The Open Air Nursery is quarter of an acre in size holding more than 75 native species in cultivation including 10 endemics and 45 tree species. The plants are on drip irrigation and the area can hold approximately 5000 individual plants depending on their pot size.