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Today marks the official start of the first ever Trees & Seas Festival, a unique international event celebrating the link between ocean and forest conservation.
Co-organized by Plastic Oceans International and ÜÑÜ, the week will feature more than 100 forest and beach cleanups and lead to the planting of more than 95,000 trees. Festival events will take place in more than 30 physical locations worldwide, but you can join in from anywhere by attending virtual panel discussions or Instagram Live broadcasts.
“This has been over two years in the making, so our entire team is elated to finally see Trees & Seas come to fruition,” Plastic International CEO Julie Andersen said in a press release emailed to EcoWatch. “I personally look forward to seeing our global collective come together to educate and inspire participants throughout the week, with the goal of making a long-term impact. It’s been a true global collaboration, with all stakeholders coming together to form a true movement.”
As EcoWatch previously reported, the leadup to the event was extended because of the coronavirus pandemic. The festival was originally slated to launch in 2020 before uncertainties regarding the spread of the new disease made that impossible. This year, however, organizers felt confident moving forward with a mix of scaled-back in-person events and virtual discussions.
This includes six panel discussions that are free for anyone to attend via Zoom.
“We’re really proud of the lineup that we’ve put together,” Plastic Oceans International Chief Operating Officer Tod Hardin said in a press release emailed to EcoWatch. “The goal was to provide a variety of subject matter that is broad in scope, but flexible enough to look at the conservation of our planet from angles that attendees might not have explored before.”
The featured events are as follows:
- Monday, 11 a.m. EDT — The Circular Economy As a Strategy for Conservation: How Nature’s Model Is the Key to Saving It
- Tuesday, 11 a.m. EDT — The Value of Eco-Friendly Entrepreneurship: How Innovative Companies Are Embracing Sustainable Products and Practices to the Benefit of Our Planet… and ToTheir Bottom Line
- Wednesday, 11 a.m. EDT — Documentaries and Environmental Movements: The Power of Film to Educate, Mobilize and Inspire Change
- Wednesday, 2 p.m. EDT — Climate Change’s Impact On the Wine Industry: How Environmental Factors and Consumer Sustainability Demands Are Shifting Business Models
- Thursday, 11 a.m. EDT — Youth Perspectives: How a new generation of eco warriors views the past and present of environmentalism, and how they can help shape its future.
- Friday, 11 a.m. EDT — Creativity As A Voice For The Planet: How Art and Artists Can Inspire Action and Change
If you can’t make any of these events, don’t worry, they will be posted on YouTube and Facebook the next day. However, if you do attend via Zoom, you have a chance to be one of five viewers per event selected to win a copy of Living Without Plastic, a new book from Plastic Oceans and Artisan Books that details more than 100 ways to use less plastic.
The events are free thanks to Trees & Seas presenting sponsor Montes Wines. Additional sponsors include One Tree Planted, Avocado Green Mattress, Bambuu, Fondo, Natracare, FOAMIE, Fundacion MERI, Lago Sofia, Innovasea, Ectogano, ProNatura and Automotora Berrios. EcoWatch is proud to act as Trees & Seas’ Global Media Partner.
