Planting trees in the 'ARC Forest'
by World Cruising Club 24 Nov 2024 10:02 UTC
ARC Forest © World Cruising Club
On Friday, 28 crew from the ARC 2024 fleet took part in the Foresta tree planting project.
The Foresta Foundation is a local charity organisation that has been planting trees on Las Palmas de Gran Canaria since 1998! Its aim is to restore, maintain and conserve the Canary Islands' forests.
Did you know that a healthy forest is essential, not only to protect the island from erosion, but also to provide fresh water for the people of Gran Canaria? The leaves of the trees catch the so-called vertical rain: moist, oceanic air, that passes over the mountains in the form of clouds condensates and drips onto the ground. - This is better than the casual rainfall on Gran Canaria.
On a day that started with light rain and thick clouds, the 28 participants managed to plant more than 130 Faya trees. As the name indicates, these trees are fire resistant and are used as a natural wall to stop the spread of forest fires. As a reward for their hard work, the skies cleared around lunchtime, giving everyone a breath taking view of the island.