Saturday, November 17, Corticeira Amorim's employees joined representatives from Quercus and Galveias Parish Council, to plant about 2,000 cork oak trees. The initiative took place in the Monte da Torre estate, owned by Galveias Town Council.
Volunteers from Corticeira Amorim first began implementing reforestation initiatives in 2011. Including the 2,000 trees planted on Saturday, they have already planted a total of approximately 20,500 autochthonous trees, of which the vast majority are cork oak trees.
The plantation once again took place in the Alentejo region that harbours some of the largest areas of cork oak forest in Portugal.
The cork oak tree is Portugal’s main autochthonous species and is classified as the National Tree of Portugal since 2011. It is perfectly adapted to Portugal’s climate and soil conditions and is a priority species in the fight against climate change.
Among many other environmental benefits, cork oak forests function as biological carbon sinks. Given their slow growth - with a life cycle that sometimes exceeds 200 years - cork oak trees play an important role in retaining carbon dioxide. This characteristic is also shared by cork products and is continued through their recycling.
The plantation of cork oak trees is supported by Quercus’ Green Cork project, of which Corticeira Amorim is a founding partner, via the Greek Cork Recycling Programme, whose results revert in full to the financing of the preservation of Portugal’s autochthonous forest.
