The group of Environmental Volunteers of the University of Navarra has organized an activity whose goal is to distribute 200 trees to students so that they can plant them in the place of their choice. It will also donate 1 euro for the victims of the earthquake in Japan for each tree given to the students.

The initiative, coordinated by the professor and expert in environmental Education Fernando Echarri, began today and will continue next Friday at campus in Pamplona. His goal is to raise awareness among students about the need to protect trees and their environment on the occasion of the International Year of Forests, declared by the United Nations General Assembly for 2011.

To participate in the activity, students have to draw a tree on a panel located in different buildings. "In return they will receive a specimen of plum, Scots pine, oak, etc., ready for them to plant at home or wherever they want," explains teacher Fernando Echarri.

With this action," adds the educator, "they will contribute 1 euro for those affected by the earthquake in Japan, which will be 2 euros more if they send us a photo of the place where they have planted their tree. In this way we intend that the activity is not only of environmental awareness but, more broadly, of social involvement".

Learning to care for trees
Also, members of group Environmental Volunteers will explain to students how and where to plant their tree, what care each one needs and how to provide it: "The idea is that students recognize the importance of forests in ecosystems, know how to plant and care for them and learn to do it as a team, with the added value that this has of work as a team".

This activity, promoted by the School of Sciences of the University of Navarra, has been supported by Caja Rural de Navarra, which has also contributed to other actions carried out by volunteers, such as cleaning up rivers or placing nesting boxes.