Reforest Mallorca

Disponible en / Available in: Español

The Respiralia Foundation and the Cystic Fibrosis Balearic Association launch the first CO2 compensation project in the Balearic Islands: “Reforest Mallorca. Plant a tree, donate oxygen”.

“Reforest Mallorca” is a macro reforestation project, in which 40,000 trees will be planted in 2 years with the collaboration of corporate and citizen volunteers. Our goal is to improve the environment, biodiversity and air quality for society in general and for people with Cystic Fibrosis in particular.

Project justification

It is obvious to say that the generation of oxygen is essential for the survival of living beings and that this requires efficient forest management.

From the Respiralia Foundation and the Cystic Fibrosis Balearic Association we strive to offer the best services to children and young people with Cystic Fibrosis, but also to ensure that their environment is appropriate to their needs. In this way, we organize talks in educational centers so that both teachers and students know about Cystic Fibrosis, its symptoms, its treatment and, above all, the limitations of people who have it.

Since June 2019, with the signing of the new code of ethics, our entities have been committed to environmental sustainability, so we can expand our action in improving the environment of these people through actions that have an impact on improving the quality of the air they breathe.

Forestry management actions involve the reforestation of areas devastated by fire. Mallorca, the island where our two entities are located, has areas that have suffered the effects of fire and, therefore, areas where oxygen generation has been significantly reduced.

How we are going to reforest Mallorca

For this project to become a reality, the participation of several stakeholders is needed. The roles of each are described below:

• Forest Service: Knowledge of reforestation on the part of the volunteer team is essential to determine the areas in need of reforestation. Therefore, they will provide adequate training to the volunteer staff so that they can supervise the planting of trees by the participants. In addition, they will provide the necessary trees for each day and tools for their planting. Finally, they will provide personnel to provide on-site advice to volunteers in case of doubt and to give talks on forestry management during the planting days.

• Trafober company: It is one of the few machinery rental companies in Spain that has backhoes capable of reaching steep places and drilling holes with specialized personnel. Their quotation includes the rental of the machine with driver per day, the transfer and accommodation of the driver and the transport of the backhoe from the mainland to the work area. They already have experience in working in the Levante area of the island of Mallorca.
• Sponsors and collaborators: They will make a financial contribution to cover the costs of organizing the event or the products needed for it.
• Participating companies with corporate volunteering: Promote the participation of their staff in tree planting supervision tasks and facilitate their staff to participate in training on the morning of a working day.
• Corporate and non-corporate volunteering: Each volunteer will be in charge of a group of participants, carrying out the necessary supervision to ensure that the planting is done correctly. Will attend the training session on tree planting by the Forestry Service and on Cystic Fibrosis by the Respiralia Foundation. Will ensure the care of the environment during the planting days.
• Participants: They will register in advance to ensure their presence on the corresponding planting day and to be included in the insurance policy. They will appear at the indicated time and place wearing the appropriate clothing and presenting proof of registration and will plant the trees indicated in the registration under the supervision of a volunteer. They will participate in conversations about forest management and Cystic Fibrosis to help comment later on what they have learned to people in their immediate environment. Finally, they will be careful not to throw any kind of object on the ground of the planting area, whether organic or inorganic.

For its part, the Organization will be responsible for the following functions:

• Obtain the necessary authorizations for the development of the project.
• Register the project in the Registry of the Ministry of Ecological Transition.
• Seek sponsoring companies, both with financial contributions to cover project expenses and with the necessary material (machinery, tools, supplies, insurance, ambulances, etc.).
• Seek volunteerism, both corporate and non-corporate.
• Give talks on Cystic Fibrosis to the volunteers.
• Obtain the necessary material for the development of the project that is not provided by the public administration or by any company.
• Promote the project so that society knows about it and participates in it.
• Provide an online platform for the registration of interested persons.
• Publicize the sponsorship and collaboration of the different companies through social networks, corporate website and media.

Material resources

• 40.000 trees, supplied by the Forest Service.
• Hoes. The Forest Service has 50 hoes, so it will be necessary to get 200 more.
• Spider backhoe to make holes of 1 m3 for each tree.

Human resources

• 15 volunteers for each day supervising the planting and 3 for registration control.
• 6 specialists from the Forest Service to advise volunteers and give talks on forest management.
• 1 person to drive the spider backhoe on steep terrain.
• 1 person for the coordination of the volunteer team.
• 1 person for project communication management.
• 1 person for the general coordination of the project (Managing Director of the Respiralia Foundation).

Data on CO2 absorption capacity and carbon footprint offset.

The project will have 1,129 tons of CO2 available to offset the carbon footprint of the companies collaborating in the project. You can see all the data here.

CSR project for companies

This project is ideal for organizing a planting day with the staff of a company. Uniting the staff through a Team Building action has a very positive impact on productivity, integration and identification of the staff with the company’s objectives.

Repercussion

We are very aware that participating companies will make a great economic effort. Therefore, we have a communication plan through the media, social networks and web that will give visibility to companies committed to the environment that decide to join the first CO2 offset project in the Balearic Islands.