Mission Accomplished! There are 700 more plants in the reforestation Santa Cruz
“The Santa Cruz Industrial Park reforestation project was just another example of how Choki is really invested in taking care of the Azores “natural museum” and moving it away from the primitive economy of cement and cows. At the time, one of the members of the association, pointed to the billboard posted outside the airport with the phrase ‘Nature is not a place to visit, it is our home’, as well as the fifteen murals of Morgan Brica, the reputed muralist – who by invitation – painted the birds for posterity. Today, Choki’s renewed source of pride finds reasons in the aesthetic appreciation impressed on the Santa Cruz industrial park – which, by virtue of the dedication of various agents, is now afforested.
It was hard work, but rewarding. In a three-day marathon, Câmara de Santa Cruz, Choki volunteers, the Regional Directorate of Forestry and the Regional Directorate of Public Works rolled up their sleeves and together planted more than seven hundred plants in an area equivalent to five football fields. For the association, it was thus taken another step towards “increasing the local aesthetic value and developing a clean and positive environment” in what is one of the busiest areas of Flores. Who wins, he understands, is the population and, in a broader sense, the region itself, which has been projected worldwide as a sustainable tourist destination. As Choki argues, “efforts to restore gardens and beautify common areas will increase the demand for sustained high quality tourism.” This in addition to representing a “great benefit to the community”. After all, “the islands are treasures and should be thought of as such.” In Flores, the vault is fuller, and there are seven hundred new “diamonds” flattering the Florentines and ready to shine the eye of those who visit the westernmost island of the archipelago.”
“Mission Accomplished! There are 700 more plants in the reforestation Santa Cruz.” Açoriano Oriental, December 02 of 2017.