At the start of 2019, the Porto Energy Agency defined its Environmental Sustainability Plan. As a way of offsetting CO2e emissions resulting from its activity regarding annual paper consumption, there was a desire to plant 176 trees over the course of the year, preferably in a burnt area of Portugal.
This number of trees was defined so that the offset was achieved in just one year of growth, without taking into account the average value of CO2 captured over the entire life of the tree.
With the opportunity to join forces with the FUTURO [FUTURE] project, on the afternoon of March 22, 87 native trees were planted in just 2 hours, roughly half the proposed number, in a former eucalyptus forest that burnt down in the civil parish of Melres, in Gondomar.
The planted species were: the sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus), the European crab apple (Malus sylvestris) and the stone pine (Pinus pinea).
With this action, the conversion of another burnt-down eucalyptus forest to an autochthonous forest was initiated, with the promise of returning to plant the remaining 89 trees! This activity developed under FUTURO – the project for 100 000 trees in the Metropolitan Area of Porto, was organized by the Municipality of Gondomar and CRE.Porto. The trees (all native) are supplied by the FUTURO Native Tree and Shrub Nursery. CRE.Porto is an education-action network for sustainability led by the Portuguese Catholic University – Porto and the Metropolitan Area of Porto.