Walk2gether promotes reforestation

April 30, 2010 at 10:09 am Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (CFCA) Leave a comment

Since today is Arbor Day, let’s talk trees.

CFCA President Bob Hentzen is now in Colombia, the sixth of 12 countries on his 8,000-mile trek through Latin America called Walk2gether. Besides building community and strengthening the bonds of unity between CFCA sponsored members, sponsors and staff, Walk2gether is promoting care of the environment.

To counter the serious problem of deforestation, and to motivate people to plant trees, sponsored members and scholarship students planted maya nut trees about every six miles along the Walk2gether route in Guatemala, said Luis CoCon of CFCA’s Hermano Pedro project.

The maya nut tree adapts easily to different weather conditions, requires little maintenance, and its fruit is rich in nutrients.

“A lot of our people use the forest for firewood,” said CoCon. “But I think the main problem is that the big plantation owners clear hundreds or thousands of trees every day to make room for sugarcane or corn fields.”

The Hermano Pedro project planted 100,000 trees in 2009 and hopes to plant 1 million between 2009 and 2011, CoCon said.


Photo courtesy of www.theequilibriumfund.org. These adaptable trees produce a highly nutritious fruit and can grow to 150 feet.	Brother Jorge Armas, Hermano Pedro project coordinator, plants a maya nut tree along the Walk2gether route in Guatemala.