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The Association of Friends of Rio Ovelha (AARO) promoted, on the morning of this Friday, March 22nd, the celebration of World Tree and Water Day, with the planting of 500 trees in the José Maria de Souza Guedes Leisure Park , in the parish of Marco.
The event had the collaboration of the Municipal Council of Marco de Canaveses, the Marco Parish Council and the National Association of Forestry, Agricultural and Environmental Companies (ANEFA), as well as Fujitsu.
The trees were planted by children from the municipality’s schools and elderly people from social centers. Rui Rodrigues, head of AARO’s environment section, highlighted the importance of “raise awareness among new generations about the future and the importance of the planet. But it is also important because we had a lot of entities and companies here. Also raise awareness among entities and companies to promote more of these events”he stressed.
In turn, Eulália Botelho, coordinator of the ProNatura project, at ANEFA, stated that the “younger people are more sensitized than older people, because they already live in a climate of change, much like older people. Every day we see that the climate is changing, but there are many people who resist this idea and continue to spend resources as if they were eternal and would never run out. These types of actions are very important, because we have ages from eight to 80 and, therefore, everything we can do for the environment, the forest is grateful for”.
Branislav Stankovic, from Fujitsu Global Delivery Center Portugal, was also present. “We support ANEFA, with funds to plant trees. These actions are important, making investments in the environment is important for us to maintain this concern and show actions that have Fujitsu’s purpose of creating a sustainable future by investing in innovation. It is important to carry out these types of actions in partnerships with various organizations, to have as many children as possible, because it is an opportunity for them to learn and do what our planet needs”.
The initiative had the support of the Marco Parish Council, which was represented by president Celso Santana. The mayor recalled that, increasingly, “We are attacked by natural disasters and in a certain way we will have to protect ourselves, we will have to create an environmental barrier to face these natural disasters. This space covers 16 hectares and is the responsibility of the Marco Parish Council. We created this space with this purpose, to share, to bring people here to get involved in what is important to us and our responsibility for nature and the environment.”
The president defended that this day “It will be marked in the lives of those who participated in the event, as well as in the space itself. The trees are grateful, I also leave the challenge to all the people who did not have the chance to participate today, so that in the next few days they can come to this park”he stressed.
Finally, the president of the Municipal Council of Marco de Canaveses, Cristina Vieira, argued that the participation of younger people is a way of “changing mentalities and changing our society. In this specific case and even at an environmental level, schools, from pre-school to secondary education, have been the great mentors and great influencers in the habits we have and in the implementation of new measures”.
This action is part of Civil Protection Month, promoted by the Municipal Civil Protection Service of Marco de Canaveses and the municipality. “Forest sappers played a very important role, because they were the ones who came to dig all the holes necessary for us to plant the trees and they were the ones who defended the forest, particularly during the fire season. This is a reflection of the work being done in the area of civil protection in prevention, which was an area that was a bit lacking and which we are now working on”.
The mayor ended by thanking AARO “which is the only environmentalist institution, with volunteers who are on the ground and carry out this work, AARO has worked exceptionally”.
The initiative also had the support of Marco Civil Protection, Marco Local Civil Protection Unit, Marco de Canaveses Volunteer Firefighters, Diamantino Seguros and AFEDTâmega.
