Plantar o Futuro

Summary of the project

“Plantar o Futuro” was born from the belief that small actions can make a big impact and that if each one of us plants a tree, one day we’ll have a forest.
“Plantar o Futuro” is aimed primarily at university students and the academic community. With the support of the University of Aveiro, native trees will be handed out to the new students. With the trees, in a kit, there will be a manual with information on the native forest and how to take care of the trees. The students adopt the plants, being responsible for them until the transplantation actions, in which they will have the opportunity to plant them. There will also be a campaign of control and removal of invasive species. These activities will take place in fields made available by the city council of Estarreja. On par with the reforestation actions, there will be interpretative treks along Baixo Vouga Lagunar as a way to strengthen the awareness-raising effect of the project. This project is a movement for the defense and promotion of the native forest and its value in mitigating climate change, fire resilience, regulation and improvement of the climate and conservation of biodiversity. “Plantar o Futuro” adopts two main strategies: (1) Environmental awareness and education and (2) Practical actions of reforestation and control of invasive species, putting in students’ hands the tools for change and increasing the value of their action. The sense of social and environmental responsibility are instilled, and volunteering is encouraged as a way of exercising active and participative citizenship.

Beneficiaries

• 2.000 University Students
• 600 Academic Community

Overall achievements

The project aimed to continue the promotion of Esterreja reforestation challenging again the Aveiro’s University community. The students were challenged to adopt a native tree. With the tree, students received a reusable cloth bag, with an informational booklet with instructions on how to take care of the plant. Students were then responsible for the tree until its final transplantation, which happens during the wet season. The participants were once again called into action to take part in the reforestation initiatives and 1293 trees were planted . During the implementation complementary activities such as, implementation of a “helpline”, good practices forum and actions to control invasive plants were performed. The action reached 1.841 people from the University community directly.