Environmental and humanitarian charity, TREE AID, is set to takeover College Green on World Environment Day (Wednesday 5 June) to highlight the need to plant more trees to combat climate change.

The Bristol-based charity, that plants 1 tree every 30 seconds (on average), is encouraging the people of Bristol to paint a tree sapling of hope on the art piece, which will spell out the word ‘TIME’ in giant letters. The aim is to cover the whole structure, made out of 100% reclaimed wood from Bristol Wood Recycling Project, with green — to send a powerful message in an iconic Bristol location.

The message will be simple yet symbolic: that now is the time to act to re-green the planet and slow down climate change.

TREE AID’s CEO, John Moffett, explained: “We are running out of time to slow down climate change and halt deforestation. If we don’t act now, the whole planet will suffer. TREE AID works in some of the driest parts of Africa where the desert is spreading, and deforestation and climate change have catastrophic impacts on the environment and people’s lives.

“Women particularly bear the brunt of the effects, as gender inequality means they have limited access to resources and are more likely to depend on the land to feed their families. We must plant trees and re-green before it is too late — now is the time to act.”

Local artist, Jay Roerade, who worked in collaboration with Bristol Design Forge to create the large structure, is calling on Bristolians from all parts of the city to come to College Green to create the environmental art with him. He said:

“Creativity brings people together. Collaborative live art is a simple and effective way of raising awareness and communicating a clear message. I am excited to be involved with this TREE AID project on World Environment Day and to support the global movement on climate change.”

TREE AID was founded in Bristol in 1987 by a visionary group of foresters who understood the power of trees in lifting people out of poverty — and has since planted over 17 million trees and supported more than 1.2 million people. The local charity is increasingly gaining international recognition for its long-term solution to help alleviate poverty and halt deforestation in the poorest and most arid parts of Africa.

Bonnie Wright, the British actress well-known for her role as Ginny Weasley in the Harry Potter films, is backing TREE AID. An environmental activist, she commented: “On World Environment Day, I am pleased to help highlight the importance of reforestation and TREE AID’s work in the drylands of Africa - especially for women, who are often worst affected by deforestation and climate change but are also an important part of the solution.”

The art stunt on World Environment Day is part of a UK government-backed appeal to help 1,000 women in Mali reverse the effects of deforestation and climate change in the drylands of Africa. The UK government will match all public donations to the She Grows appeal before 30th June through the UK Aid Match scheme.

To donate and find out more, visit the TREE AID website: www.treeaid.org.uk/shegrows.

-Ends-

NOTES TO EDITOR:
Contact details
Sally Airey, Communications Manager at TREE AID: sally.airey@treeaid.org / 0117 916 6438
Andrea Sexton, PR consultant, asexton.pr@gmail.com / 0788 799 7922
Interviews
John Moffett, TREE AID CEO.
Film and images
Images and film from art event on the day.
Short film explaining the issue and the She Grows appeal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jcwi4YZ_U5g


About TREE AID


TREE AID helps people in the drylands of Africa to lift themselves out of poverty and protect their environment, using the power of trees and enterprise training.
TREE AID was established as a charity in 1987 in Bristol by a group of local foresters in response to the famine in Ethiopia. They believed that trees offered an effective solution to poverty, protecting the environment and providing food, income and a means to educate their children.
TREE AID plants 1 tree every 30 seconds, on average, and has supported more than 1.2 million people to transform their lives through the power of trees. The organisation works in the drylands of Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali and Niger and environmentally-fragile areas of Ethiopia — places where people live in extreme poverty and have little food, money or opportunity. Find out more: www.treeaid.org.uk.
About UK Aid Match
UK Aid Match brings charities, the British public and the UK government together to collectively change the lives of some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people.
For every 1GBP given by the public to a UK Aid Match charity appeal, the government adds 1GBP from the UK’s international development budget.
Over the last five years 42 organisations from across the UK have run UK Aid Match projects in 27 developing countries, helping around 25 million people.
UK Aid Match gives everyone in the UK a say in how the UK’s aid money is spent. It boosts the impact of high quality projects that improve the lives of poor people in developing countries. Find out more: https://www.ukaidmatch.org