Hands in the ground, there's a heritage of more than 2,500 new trees to be planted

There may already be a lot of trees in Parque da Cidade, but if Sofia and Gonçalo are sure of anything, it's that even many years from now they'll always know which ones they planted themselves. With more or less strength to pick up the hoe, but a great desire to get their hands in the ground, the children of the Escola Básica dos Correios primary school helped bring around 150 holm oak, holly and walnut trees to life. It's now up to the Municipality of Porto and other partners to plant a few more in the city's parks and streets. There will be precisely 2,544 new specimens of a 'unique heritage' that already has more than 66,000 trees.

The look of astonishment on their faces when they realise that the tall eucalyptus trees next to the small plants they are putting in the ground are over 70 years old contrasts with the knowledge they show about how the compost they add while planting is made from the organic waste they separate at home or at school. Also in their studies on the importance of trees for life, they all get top marks.

One might say that that moment, this Tuesday morning, marked the beginning of life for these trees, but the process started further back... in the bottle stoppers. This is because the 1,351 trees that the Municipality of Porto will be planting in Parque da Cidade, Parque Oriental, Parque de S. Roque, Quinta de Bonjóia, Parque do Covelo and the Palácio de Cristal Gardens are the result of the 'Rolha a rolha, semeie a recolha' campaign.

The project, which brings together Porto Ambiente, LIPOR and Quercus, according to the deputy mayor, is 'very important because it aims to give a new life to the stoppers that we all use, particularly in commercial establishments, in restaurants', giving new life to an 'endogenous resource we all greatly value, which is cork, essential for our industry, besides being a very sustainable industry'.

With 61 venues participating, around 67,500 stoppers were collected, the equivalent to 337.7 kilos. For every 50 stoppers collected, a tree is allocated to the Municipality.

'It's a way of collecting the end of this product and putting it back into the chain', Filipe Araújo emphasises, pleased with the 'already significant numbers' achieved by everyone while considering the importance for 'the population itself to realise the need for us to keep planting them'.

Another 1,193 new trees are spreading across the city

Also praising the association of some companies in this planting process, the Councillor for the Environment and Climate Transition recalls how 'the city has worked hard on this recycling and reuse theme'. 'We've broken records every year, which is good, it means that the entire population of Porto has been committed to improving recycling', he underlines.

Later this month, the hands of the students from Escola do Falcão school will be at work - or in the ground of Parque do Covelo. The initiatives follow on from the Municipality of Porto's ongoing work to expand, monitor and maintain the city's trees. In addition to these, the tree-planting season (from November to May) will bring another 1,193 new specimens of holly, oak, alder, arbutus, black walnut, yew and willow to the streets of Porto. About half of this target is already visible.

'We are continuing to cultivate Porto's urban forest and further enhance the city's unique heritage', Filipe Araújo highlights.