It might feel inconceivable, but we are talking about forest fires at this time of year. Climate change is impacting one of our ecosystem’s most important components: trees. APPLE TREE is committed to environmental conservation, and our corporate strategy involves efforts to create a more sustainable world. As a result, we have focused on forests and have collaborated with Bosques Sostenibles, with whom we participate actively in reforestation programs and have shared our most recent podcast.
Forests are critical to combating climate change: they benefit current and future generations greatly, play an important role in poverty eradication, and help to achieve many of the Sustainable Development Goals. (SDGs). Since 2012, the United Nations General Assembly has designated the 21st of March as International Forest Day in order to highlight the importance of forests worldwide. As a result, we chose to dedicate our podcast to this day of vindication and learning.
During the interview we conducted with Elena Álvarez Diestro, Manager of Bosques Sostenibles, we learned a little more about two projects in which APPLE TREE is currently working to regenerate forests that have suffered fires or are in the process of reforestation. The first is in the Montgrí continental dune, which is part of the Montgrí Natural Park, which also features the Medes Islands and the Baix Ter in Catalonia. Over 100 trees were planted by the Barcelona office staff. The Madrid headquarters went to Mijares, a 200-hectare area to the north of the city. This mountain was burned in 2013, affecting the habitats of emblematic species such as the imperial eagle, the black stork, and, more recently, the Iberian lynx, which is becoming more common in the region.
Forests are beneficial not only to the environment, but they are also essential to the economy and people’s well-being. The manufacturing of fuelwood and charcoal employs close to 900 million people, primarily in developing nations. One in three people on the planet, or 2.4 billion people, cook their meals with wood.
Additionally, numerous studies have demonstrated that visiting forests lowers cortisol, heart rate, and blood pressure. María García, a member of the APPLE TREE team in Madrid, joined us on this podcast to discuss the advantages for people’s health and, above all, her love of nature. She shared her passion for forests. Because sustainability and the environment are our two great loves at APPLE TREE. We are a proud B Corp organization because of this.
