Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort hosts press conference of PlantAruba, a local initiative to enrich the quality of life for our residents and future generations, with trees.
The goal is clear: Ban Lanta y planta. The initiative is the brainchild of Ewald Biemans, Chief Environmental Officer of Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort, who was inspired by a story on social media where planting trees by a couple over some years led to reforestation of a previously stripped and barren expanse of land. After sharing the story on social media, inspired local community members organized and activated a fresh and powerful initiative and called it PlantAruba. The founders consist of environmental activists and local conservationists in the field and together they created an action plan to motivate the community to achieve a greener and cooler Aruba with the beautiful simplicity of planting trees. During the press conference, the architects of the plan shared their vision and objectives of the planting of (indigenous) trees, including regional fruit trees on residential plots, government land, and commercial land.
The Ban Lanta y Planta campaign from October 25 – November 25 is a social media contest where those entering have an opportunity to win prizes if they plant a tree, film the planting, and share and like it on facebook. Further details can be found on the Ban Lanta y Planta social media pages. Anita Aerts, chairwoman PlantAruba explains, “If every homeowner will plant one tree, we will have about 40,000.00 additional trees on the island. Start small with just one tree and you will make a difference. The added bonus is that you will add shade and a cooler space in your garden, which ultimately will help with energy costs if the tree is planted strategically.” Aerts added.
After the press conference, Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort launched the program by planting the first tree, a Mango tree, and two other fruit trees in its Resort garden. Ewald Biemans explained: “Planting these trees is just the beginning as we aim to plant many more. We hope this beautiful inaugural Mango tree will inspire the community and inform of the benefits of planting indigenous and regional trees. Trees help against CO2 output, offer shade, cool their surroundings and possibly bear fruit. After some time to take root, trees do not need a lot of water. Let’s all Ban Lanta y Planta for a greener Aruba”, Biemans added.
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