Today is World Sight Day 2013 which marks the launch of a new WHO Action Plan on the prevention of avoidable blindness and visual impairment. Their theme this year is Universal Eye Health, urging people around the world to get their eyes tested and support the WHO Action...
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Arboretum Marbella is an environmental charity creating a people’s forest in Marbella. Its aims are to create a public park of native plants and trees which is a site for conservation, education and a beautiful green space for everyone to enjoy. All their actions are aimed at informing and inspiring Marbella’s residents and tourists to become more aware of the importance of nature and protecting it by becoming more sustainable and less environmentally damaging.
Since the start on the 4th May 2011, when the Town Hall gave the project a 10 hectare stretch of waste land from behind Marbella’s bus station, a huge amount of work has gone into the creation of the people’s forest which now has more than 17,000 trees, plants and shrubs. Tons of rubbish had to be initially cleared from the site and then rocks had to be removed and the soil turned and prepared for planting. Since that point volunteers, supporters, businesses and schools have all come together to plant trees, create an organic vegetable garden and educate the community. In its second year they welcomed 1,700 students, planted 7,092 trees and plants and undertook 235 activities and events with over 2,000 participants.
This year's charity walk takes place on Sunday 12th May at 9:30am on the beach front next to Sunset Beach Hotel, Benalmádena. All funds raised will help toward covering the costs of Care Programmes through which the Cudeca Hospice attends to more than 750 cancer patients...
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The end of the International Year of the Forest was marked at Arboretum in Marbella on 29th December 2011 with a tree planting by the area’s oldest woman, Antonia Aranda Fernandez. 98 year old Antonia planted her favourite tree, the almond, surrounded by friends and family and recounted stories from her long and varied life.
Antonia is the mother of 5 children, grandmother to 11 grandchildren and great grandmother to 15 great-grandsons and one great-granddaughter. Born on 3rd February 1913, the third of 14 children in a farming family, Antonia has had a hard but rewarding life living in close contact with the land and in her own words “fighting like a lioness” to provide for her family. From the age of 12 she worked in the fields and then from 14 carried sacks of flour in return for bread and oil, becoming a cleaner in later life.
Her memories of Marbella are of a very different place than we see today, with the whole area covered in trees and full of bird song. She’s sad to see how few trees are now left and how little contact younger generations are having with the countryside. “My great-grandchildren don’t have a relationship with the earth and that’s not good. Having a connection with nature is important, you have to understand it and know what it can give us. To us as children trees were everything, our playground and our larder. The disrespect that the younger generations show for nature is harmful for everyone and for the future.”
Specsavers Opticas quiere seguir impulsando las asociaciones benéficas locales y ha anunciado recientemente que sus cuatro ópticas en la Costa Blanca se han asociado con diferentes organizaciones benéficas. Durante los próximos doce meses, desde Specsavers se recaudarán fondos para éstas, se apoyarán sus campañas solidarias y les ayudarán a crear conciencia entre la población.
The Allen Graham Charity 4 Kidz is pleased to have been associated with Specsavers since their first Mallorca branch opened earlier this year. In collaboration with Planet Space, the Charity is currently having a collection to provide Christmas presents for the street children in Mallorca. Martin...
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