Growing up with the environment
by World Cruising Club 11 Nov 2022 18:21 GMT
From 20 November 2022
ARC 2022 - Foresta tree planting tour © World Cruising Club
The Foresta tree planting tour continues to be popular amongst ARC Sailors! Today crews from across the ARC 2022 fleet gave back to the Gran Canarian ecosystem by adding to the ARC Forest. The activity proved again to be an enormous success; the group did not stop until a whopping 114 trees had been planted!
The trees hitting the soil were from both the 'Fayas' and 'Brezos' species (as they are locally known). The two species are well suited for the climate and are incredibly important in preventing soil erosion and maintaining water security on the island. Local guides: Sergio, Jorge, Cristina, Arturo, and Tamara, were excellent in directing the sailors throughout the entire excursion and educating all.
A demonstration was provided of the five key steps of planting the saplings correctly. First, dig a suitably sized hole and put the sapling in it (the correct way round of course!), then put the protective net around the tree to keep the pests out. Next, pour two buckets of water gently so it falls in to where the hole was dug. Lastly, cover the soil with dried wood chip to stop evaporation and then take a photo with the new tree!
Returning to the forest this year, 8 years after their first trip with ARC was the crew of Take Off who first joined when taking part in ARC 2014. They have since circumnavigated with World ARC and will be continuing on their second circumnavigation after ARC 2022. The youngest of the crew were Alex and Inez, who were 5 and 3 years old the first time round and are now 13 and 11! They found one of the trees planted 8 years ago which has grown even more than them!
Also accompanying the cohort was of course our ARC 2022 mascot, Sailor Ted, who like everyone will soon to begin his own Atlantic adventure. Just like Ted, all of those who took part in today's project enjoyed the panoramic views across the island of Gran Canaria. All our sailors left the mountain with happy memories and lots of photographs - it was great to get a breath of fresh air out of the city!