translated from Spanish: How it was Chile’s largest reforestation that could have been suspended

“When the social outburst happened, I was too worried that this idea would be over,” says Marilyn, the neighborhood leader of the commune of Renca. She was one of the first to arrive this Friday at Cerros de Renca Metropolitan Park, where families, students from the commune and volunteers from various sides came to plant 15 thousand trees.
December 6 became a historic day for the environment. In the midst of COP25, hundreds of people joined in 6D It’s Now, the world’s largest climate action chain, whose milestone was a massive reforestation that took place there with the presence of political and social authorities.
But this historical event could have been suspended after the social outburst, like so many other activities that have been carried out with that fate these days. However, both the neighbors and the municipality, in addition to the contiting institutions, decided to move forward because of how important it was to form a green lung for the commune, the country and the planet, with a concrete environmental and social impact for the current reality.
For the Mayor Claudio Castro this reforestation “is a symbol of territorial and environmental justice to build a new Chile. These hills receive every winter the smog of the city and witness the injustice that is experienced daily in Renca with regard to quality of life. But this project is also a community cry as citizens of the world to deal with the climate emergency that is being underway.”
Reforestation
In just one day, 15,000 trees were planted to address the planet’s current climate crisis. “For 6D It’s Now, the reforestation milestone made in Renca is one of the most significant of the campaign. Not only because it is the largest native reforestation in the history of Chile and the collective action in which thousands of people participated and that resulted from the collaborative work of multiple actors of society, but because it considers the creation of a space community of dignity for one of the communities with less access to green areas of the RM, created by the community itself,” said Jorge Tapia, director of 6D It’s Now.
“Today’s activity has been too relevant, not only for us as an organization, but also for many people who participated today. This activity has convened civil society, companies of different fields, supporting with the necessary resources to be able to develop it and also many public institutions that have supported from different fields. It is a tremendous achievement, to be able to convene so widely, in a cause common to so many institutions”, said Enrique Gellona, executive director of Corporación Cultiva.
One of the companies that participated in this massive afforestation was Coca-Cola. For the Company, care for the environment is a priority and water is one of the axes it addresses through its plans and programs. “Knowing that trees play a fundamental role in the proper conservation of this resource, Coca-Cola Chile set out to take local actions that would allow it to join the company’s global movement,” commented the sustainability manager and digitalization of Coca-Cola Andina, Francisca Pefaur.
“In addition to these projects that are developed in different regions of the country, we join in the reforestation of the Renca hill, since we are convinced in the need for green areas that this area of the Metropolitan Region has,” the executive explained.
Thus, the company participated with different contributions, ranging from the hydration of the activity, volunteers in the planting of trees and the maintenance of reforestation, which contemplates the care of the trees for 5 years.

Original source in Spanish