As part of their recently-launched ‘Plant a School’ programme, Lisbon-based Mother Earth, an association for the preservation of the environment, is organising a tree-planting drive at Bemposta school in Portimão. The event will take place on National Indigenous Forest Day, November 23, and aims to promote environmental preservation and eco-citizenship.
“Plant a School” (or ‘Plante uma Escola’) is a national Mother Earth programme, implemented by regional centres, whose aim is to improve the environment of schools and raise awareness among young people about the benefits of planting trees in the current context of climate crisis and the need for environmental preservation.
“Concrete actions undertaken by students and their local educational community, such as planting trees, foster awareness about simple individual actions that can improve the greater, global environment,” says a statement by Mother Earth.
In future academic years, further activities will be carried out aimed at raising students’ awareness about environmental issues and sustainable development goals, thus promoting environmental eco-citizenship and responsibility.
In particular, the programme seeks to educate young people about the importance of indigenous forests in the preservation of ecosystems in Portugal and across the planet.
Students will be challenged to take part in the defence of their local environment and to actively participate in community decision-making processes, thereby contributing to a greater awareness of the importance of the environment in their day-to-day lives.
In addition to Portimão, this programme is simultaneously taking place this month in schools in Setúbal, Penafiel and Vila Nova de Cerveira.
The initiative is supported by the Portimão City Council and the Elaine Bain Family Trust, while garden centre Mil Plantas in Estoi is sponsoring some of the trees.
About Mother Earth
Mother Earth – Association for the Preservation of the Environment is a non-profit association founded in 2014 in Portugal by Pema Wangyal Rinpoche. The association seeks to develop “a kind society” that is active in the protection and preservation of ecosystems.
“We are a group of people of diverse origins, professions and ages, who have in common their concern for environmental issues, and who seek to contribute with solutions that promote the restoration and protection of the environment,” says Elsa Mariano, vice-president of the association.
“Mother Earth is present in a large part of the national territory and is organised in various action groups. We thus seek to intervene directly in several regions of Portugal of which we have direct knowledge of local environmental issues.”
Mother Earth has its headquarters in Lisbon and is supported by regional groups in Madeira, Minho, Porto, Setúbal, the Alentejo, and the Algarve.
Facebook: Mother Earth NGO
About EBFT
The Elaine Bain Family Trust is a charity that focuses on giving young people from disadvantaged backgrounds the opportunities to access a curriculum enrichment programme.
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