Climate change is fought, among other ways, by planting (many) trees. However, it is not always possible to plant the number of trees we need, want, or deserve – and although Operation Green Mountain 2022 had set very ambitious goals [42,000 trees to be offered to 8 municipalities and planted within 6 hours, across 2 mornings], this year, due to a significant lack of rainfall, the initiative will be symbolically concentrated in a single planting event at the University of Algarve (Gambelas Campus), on 13 November.

Operation Green Mountain was launched in 2016 as an environmental sponsorship initiative by Zoomarine. That year, 5,600 trees were donated and planted in the Municipality of Silves. The following year, the initiative doubled (10,600 trees and 2 municipalities, under the High Patronage of the Presidency of the Republic)… and it has continued to double, year after year, ever since.

Over the course of 6 editions [with no plantings in 2020], Zoomarine has already provided more than 126,000 trees, and by the end of 2022 around 92,000 will have been planted across various municipalities in the Algarve.

Despite a consortium of 17 entities having agreed earlier in 2022 to continue collaborating on Operation Green Mountain, the lack of sufficient rainfall has prevented Zoomarine’s collective plans to offer 42,000 more trees to Algarve municipalities. These trees would have been planted in cooperation with those entities and hundreds of volunteers throughout November.

Thanks to the close partnership between Zoomarine and the University of Algarve – which enabled the installation of an automated irrigation system at the Gambelas Campus – the 2022 planting will instead be concentrated on land where irrigation can ensure a far greater survival rate for the young plants.

Those wishing to help with the planting are encouraged to register in advance via a dedicated link, we ensure three important forms of support: equipment (gloves, shovels, hoes, etc.), insurance cover, and refreshments (fruit and water). Registration is free. Volunteers are recommended to be aged 8 or over, to wear very comfortable clothing and footwear, and to follow the coordinators’ instructions (to respect the planting plan, coordinate efforts, and of course ensure the safety of all – including the plants and their future survival).

Although reduced to a single location, Zoomarine’s partners in Operation Green Mountain 2022 include 8 municipalities (Castro Marim, Faro, Lagos, Loulé, Olhão, Portimão, São Brás de Alportel and Silves), along with several regional and national entities: University of Algarve, Algar SA, Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF), Portuguese Environment Agency (APA), Portuguese Institute for Sport and Youth (IPDJ), Algarve Tourism Region, Águas do Algarve SA, Directorate-General for Schools – Algarve Regional Services, Europe Direct Algarve and Olimar Reisen, to whom we extend our gratitude for their availability, commitment and cooperation.

Even though Operation Green Mountain 2022 may not reach the numbers of previous editions (for example, in 2019: 42,000 trees donated, 8 municipalities involved, and 4,147 volunteers planting for 6 hours), on 13 November, between 10:00 and 12:00, we will once again leave the Algarve a little greener and a little healthier. And because the University of Algarve stands as a noble symbol of universality and of the future, this Sunday’s initiative will serve as a springboard so that in 2023 we may return with even greater strength, with even more trees, and with even greater hope in these acts of collective generosity and proactive citizenship – because our planet needs it, because our planet deserves it… and because Together, We Protect.