Ascension Island in the south Atlantic was an unremarkable volcanic island formed around a million years ago. It had some grass and a freshwater spring, and sea turtles and birds made it their home. In 1815, a British garrison planted a vegetable garden and brought in livestock, but there were no trees at all on the island. When Charles Darwin's famous Beagle expedition stopped there in 1836, he pondered the island's possibilities.
Seven years later, British botanist and explorer Joseph Hooker visited the island. Edged on by Darwin, Hooker advised the British Navy that vegetating the island would help capture rain and improve the soil. Trees would capture moisture and reduce evaporation, while their roots will break down the lava rocks and create thicker and loamy soils.
Beginning in 1850 and continuing for a decade, the Royal Navy imported thousands of saplings encompassing more than 330 different species from botanical gardens in Europe, South Africa and Argentina. The plants were specifically chosen to withstand the harsh conditions of life on this volcanic desert. In twenty years, more than five thousand trees had begun to take root. They covered the crown of Green Mountain, the highest point of the island, in a lush halo of bamboo, while tall Norfolk pines flanked the slopes. These trees were planted to be used as replacement masts for sailing ships.
The trees transformed the island in many ways. Not only did plants and animals flourish, but the very weather was changed! Read the story of Ascension Island at Amusing Planet.
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