The UAB and CREAF come together for a new tree planting activity at the Plaça del Coneixement

The specimens come from donations under the agreement established between the UAB, CREAF and Etifor (WOWnature) within the framework of the European Erasmus+ Uforest project, initiated in 2021. The project aims to promote Europe's innovation capacity between universities, cities and companies to offer a new approach to urban forestry.

The activity took place between 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. in front of the Faculty of Translation and Interpreting, on land previously prepared with the collaboration of volunteers from the Fundació Autònoma Solidària (FAS), in an area close to where the first planting took place in November 2024. The specimens planted on that occasion, a pilot test of thirty trees and fifty shrubs of medium size (neither as small as in reforestations nor as large as is usually done in cities), have survived very well and have grown quite a bit; only four trees have not progressed.

The initiative aims to change the appearance of a concrete urban space and create an environment that softens the effects of climate change on the university community and, at the same time, promotes the biodiversity of the campus. The aim is to make the UAB campus more resilient to the effects of the climate crisis, such as heat waves and the loss of biodiversity, while creating a climate refuge with trees that have low water needs and produce fruits that can also be useful for local fauna. In fact, the species selected for the campus (native Mediterranean tree and shrub species typical of Catalonia's forest ecosystems) attract pollinators and small birds. This initiative also aims to educate and raise awareness among the community about the importance of green spaces in urban environments.

An action "for future generations"

At the event, UAB Vice-Rector for Campus and Sustainability Xavier Gabarrell stated that, paradoxically, "if there is one thing that is missing on campus, it is trees" both leading to "lack of shade when moving from one point to another" and a need "to improve the quality of the buildings". He also highlighted that today's planting is "an action that we carry out for future generations", since trees take time to grow and the good arrangement of shaded areas is always "the result of good planning". Vice-Rector Gabarrell thanked everyone who participated in the project for their involvement.  Joan Pino, director of CREAF, stressed that this initiative is "a training, research and action project" in which the UAB becomes "an experimental city" in order to delve deeper into an urban model that responds to the challenges of climate change. He also thanked the community for its financial contributions through the "adopt-a-tree" crowdfunding campaign.