Green Army – The Saga continues
The 2nd edition of “Plantar o Futuro” is complete and the future seems greener to us.
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes and 5 seconds
© Helder Berenguer, João Simões
In October, the University of Aveiro was, once more, attacked by our “green army”! More than 1 500 trees went on an adventure for their “Erasmus” trip in the homes of students and employees of this Academy. But, after all, at the end of their stay, what happened to them?
If plants could talk, there would be no lack of stories! We, in Agora Aveiro, have a special talent and we’re able to get, from their leaves, some confessions. Let this be only between us, some of them went through rough times, but it’s part of growing! Some enjoyed the company of their adoptive parents so much that, despite our efforts, never returned.
Thanks to all of those who carried the challenge to the end, most of our friends were able to come back to fulfill their honorable mission: to reforest the Bioria’s trails, in Estarreja. Believe it or not, there were some emotional goodbyes, and some of the trees even got names.
It was three intense Saturdays, where the participants said, not a “goodbye”, but a “see you later” to their trees, now full of motivation to develop their roots on Earth and a pillar on the ecosystem. We are sure that they won’t disappoint us! Not even the rain made us give up our dream, and we want to thank Saint Peter, who decided to bless our second planting with his tears (due to being proud and full of joy, we believe).
It is indeed moving to see a group of strangers start a Saturday morning, very early, get on a bus, still shy and end up the day returning already in conversation and with a smile on their faces! We also had the opportunity to take on the control of invasive plants, in which Pampas Grass (Cortaderia selloana) and Wattle trees (Acacia) put up a fight, and what a fight.
But it was not all about hard work! There’s time for everything, so let’s not forget the walking tour through the several paths of Bioria or the lunch hours filled with energizers that put everyone, even the shyest, at ease.
We are proud to close yet another edition of “Plantar o Futuro”. There are thousands of trees that will now grow and give a home to the residents of Bioria and shadow to its visitors.
We take this opportunity to thank all those who joined us and spent some of their time to make this happen! All of this was only possible due to our sponsors and partners: Município de Estarreja, Universidade de Aveiro, Ecomobile - Aluguer de Automóveis, Sementes de Portugal, Casa Martelo, Grupos Ramalhos, Núcleo de Estudantes de Biologia - AAUAv, Núcleo de Cinema e Fotografia - AAUAv, Associação BioLiving, Departamento de Biologia - Universidade de Aveiro and Associação Académica da Universidade de Aveiro.
The wind is very nosy and loves to spread the news about others’ lives. We don’t like intrigue, nevertheless, it’s heard that there's still a lot of Future to plant. Who knows? It might be right! This idea keeps on boiling and growing roots inside of us. What about you? Are you going to keep on waiting for the world to change?
“Plantar o Futuro” is organized by Agora Aveiro in cooperation with the University of Aveiro and Estarreja’s Municipality. This project is co-financed by the European Union, Instituto Camões, and AMI under the project NOPLANETB AMI.
Liliana Macedo