On Indigenous Forest Day, Bgreen // ecological film festival in cooperation with the municipality of Santo Tirso, participated in an initiative that consisted on the maintenance and plantation of indigenous trees in Monte Padrão – Santo Tirso. Namely in a green area that had burnt in 2010 and that is presently being reforested with the same native species such as the common oak, hawthorn, and hazel, chestnut and strawberry trees.
If in 2014, 3327 new trees were planted, the objective on the long run is to plant 100 thousand in the Porto metropolitan area. For Rute Monteiro, 2nd year student in the Multimedia Course, being a part of the team of volunteers in bgreen’s social project is an act of citizenship. “Young people have to be responsible for our forests. Without our participation and commitment it will be difficult to change mentalities. More than a practical gesture, today’s initiative was a sign that a group of youngsters has a say in the matters of the municipality”.
Accompanied by teachers Dário Santos, Samuel Afonso, Fernando Félix and Andreia Costa, the endeavor was divided in two moments. First, a brief explanation about tree plantation and growth process, the best soil to plant in and what to do after the planting. Then, we got to work and planted some trees.
At the end of the day, Tiago Bessa, Communication Course student was quite satisfied. “It is always good to be a part of these types of initiatives. The world needs someone to take care of it and bgreen, besides being a film festival, promotes concrete initiatives to raise awareness and change behaviors”.