Plant. Recycle. Reduce. Plant. Protect. Then do it all again.
This was the statement Costa Rica made during World Environment Day, June 5.
Across the country, volunteers, companies and government officials slid on their working gloves and flexed their green muscles as they dug tiny holes to plant new trees, adopted existing ones, promoted ecologically safe habits and sounded their environmentally charged political messages.
At Earth University, near the Caribbean slope town of Guácimo, Costa Rican president Laura Chinchilla planted one of the million trees that the institute plans to plant across the globe as part of their “sow the future” campaign.
On Saturday, the campaign’s collaborators planted more than 200,000 trees in 26 countries.
Chinchilla sounded her support.
“Costa Rica reiterates it’s commitment to distinguish itself within the international community as a nation that supports development that walks hand in hand with environmental conservation,” she said in a release.
In Papagayo, in the northwestern province of Guanacaste, 110 volunteers planted 1,573 native Guanacaste trees near the peninsula’s Nacasolo mangrove swamp.
“We our proud to be able to protect a wooded zone next to an important protected area such as the Nacascolo mangroves,” said Marielos Saravia, environmental comptroller for the Papagayo Peninsula.
At Las Baulas National Marine Park in Guanacaste, locals lined up at the office of the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Telecommunications to adopt trees as part of the area’s first campaign for forest protection and reforestation.
For the Costa Rican-based cleaning supply company, Florex, the day marked the opportunity to push its ecologically sound products.
During 2009, the company reduced its consumption of water, paper and electricity by up to 17 percent, earning it the coveted blue flag award from the Costa Rican Water and Sewer Institute.
The company’s message: “Reducing and compensating (for environmental impacts) equals the difference between being environmentally friendly and appearing environmentally friendly.”
