By Jennifer N. Arriaga Rivera | Development Coordinator
A year and a half ago we began our reforestation project, an ambitious 3 year plan that was aimed at lowering urban heat in Caguas, Puerto Rico by sowing trees, de-paving strategies and educating around nature based solutions. Today we are proud to report our accomplishments. In March we celebrated the year anniversary of the project by holding our “Expo Forestal”, a shared community celebration showcasing reforestation practices, learnings and a space to imagine the next steps in our journey.
During this time we also continued to educate community members and school children about urban heat islands and reforestation. We thank Manuel Toro Morice School for hosting us and being open to heat measuring exercises and talking about the impact of deforestation in our communities and the importance of taking proper actions.
Also, and because there is no reforestation practice responsible if biodiversity is not learned about and accounted for, we have held 2 bioblitz activities. During these popular events the participants documented the flora, fauna, fungi, insects and lichens that inhabit our urban spaces into the I-Naturalist platform.
We participated in the 3rd Extreme Heat convening of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, where we had the opportunity to present the panel “Community Initiatives for Extreme Heat Adaptation”. We also conducted a community walk to reflect on the importance of green spaces, biodiversity and how proper planning and designing can assist in reducing heat effect. We also participated in the Congress for Managing Urban Trees in Caguas, and in the 3rd Climate and Societal Educational Symposium.
All of these events and more could not have happened without your support. If you believe that reducing urban heat and food sovereignty can be achieved by reforestation and education please continue to show your generous support. We truly appreciate it!
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