Tree Planting and Environmental Education are Top Priorities in Cañas, Costa Rica.

The community of the canton of Cañas, in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, will be celebrating the one year anniversary of starting a reforestation and environmental education campaign in the region. On June 6, a ceremony will take place at the Antonio Obando High School to inaugurate the second stage of the campaign. Last year, amid growing concern over the effects of deforestation and the well being of the community, citizens of the canton came together to form the Adopt a Tree Foundation (FUNDARBOL).

For this second stage of the project, the businesses and community of Cañas will be using common tools and supplies along with good will and community unity to declare war against the growing problem of deforestation in the country and the world. The main goal of the community project is to increase the forest cover in the region by planting trees that are native to zone, as well as developing a culture of restoration, protection and conservation of natural resources through environmental education.

Last year, during the first phase of the project, the community planted about 3,400 trees in 40 different sites throughout the canton, including public parks, schools and institutions. The trees planted include a total 60 distinct species including the name-sake Guanacaste tree. Present to hep were about 1,300 students from 16 schools along with their teachers and environmental activists.

The community activity on June 6 will enjoy the support of the regional legislator Gilberto Jerez, the Ministry of Energy and the Environment (Minae), the regional director of the Ministry of Education, the Cañas Municipality, the Water and Sewer Institute (AyA), the Costa Rica Institute of Electricity (ICE), the Institute of Agricultural Development, the Health Ministry, the National Learning Institute, as well as NGOs, private companies and residents of the community.

The goal of reforestation has received a lot of publicity in recent months thanks to Costa Rica’s goal of becoming the first carbon neutral country by 2010, while combating worldwide climate change in the process. Last year the country planted a total of 5 million trees. This year they set a more ambitious goal of planting 7 million trees to help absorb ozone gases in the air produced by the nation’s population. It is the work of small communities like Cañas that will help to make this a reality, just as it is the work of small countries like Costa Rica that will hopefully make global difference in the future.

For more information about FUNDARBOL, go here: www.fundarbol.or.cr

This post's rating:

Related Stories

Filed under: Costa Rica News on May 22nd, 2008