Launching a public fundraiser, hosting a get-together and an all important gear sale are just some of the things the European Outdoor Conservation Association (EOCA) will be involved in at ISPO next month.
To mark and celebrate EOCA being 10 years old and having given €2 million to conservation, the Association launched an ambitious plan in 2016 to plant and/or regenerate 2 million trees around the world. Trees provide huge benefits stabilising slopes, protecting coastlines and providing oxygen, for example. EOCA has already committed to funding 5 new projects which together will plant over 1 million trees. In addition, EOCA members The North Face, LOWA, Nikwax and Marmot have been supporting their own tree planting projects and projects for 2017 are currently being assessed.
As part of this, EOCA is launching a public fundraiser to raise enough money to plant 80,000 native trees in Nepal, in an area degraded by illegal timber harvesting, plant collection, poaching and made worse by the earthquakes and subsequent landslides of 2015. The project will plant trees along 3 off-the beaten track trekking trails to provide stability for slopes, create a sustainable wood source and strengthen the communities’ potential to benefit from visiting trekkers via training and workshops. The project needs €30,000 which will be raised by asking the public to donate funds to ensure its success.
