According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), today is dedicated to celebrating and raising awareness of the importance of all types of forests. Countries around the world are encouraged to take on local, national and international efforts to organize activities dealing with trees and forests such as tree planting campaigns.
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The FAO is encouraging communities from around the world to share photos on their website - showing how trees make a difference to peoples’ surroundings, and of what they are doing to support their own forests.
Check out some of the photos we’ve submitted below, as well as some other really cool photos from around the world:
Earth Day Planting with Toronto Hydro - Toronto
Village Tree Planting – Malawi
Planting Eucalyptus trees to help prevent erosion in the Upper Solo River Basin – Indonesia
Arbor Day - Cambodia
Here’s what Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon had to say on the observance of the International Day of Forests:
“Forests are vital for our well-being. They cover nearly a third of the globe and provide an invaluable variety of social, economic and environmental benefits. Three-fourths of freshwater comes from forested catchment areas. Forests stabilize slopes and prevent landslides; they protect coastal communities against tsunamis and storms. More than 3 billion people use wood for fuel; some 2 billion people depend on forests for sustenance and income, and 750 million live within them.”
As well as highlighting the importance of forests on a larger scale around the world, today is definitely also about how you can make a difference on a local level, in your community, for your trees and urban forests.
If you’ve always wanted to learn more about your local trees, and how to care for them, LEAF offers the Tree Tenders Volunteer Training Program. It’s a multi-day course designed for individuals who want to gain tree-related knowledge and skills. Graduates of the Tree Tender program are inspired to be more connected to their trees and use their newly gained knowledge to become stewards of our urban forests!
Just in time to celebrate International Forest Day, the courses are open for registration and spots are filling up fast! Click here for more details on the course schedule and how you can register today!
So that’s just one idea; tell us how else you can celebrate forests today!