Photo enlarges to show 30 acres being reforested.
12,000 trees planted in reforestation effort near Lake El Naranjal

This month, on August 2, a group of 123 volunteers met near Lake El Naranjal, north of Villa de Alvarez, Colima to begin the journey of social reforestation. The event was organized by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) and the National Forestry Commission (CONAFOR).

In coordination with these agencies, the Manzanillo Port Authority (API) was a participant of this ambitious event, and thousands of families have agreed to return to the area to continue caring for the trees.

 The reforestation operation was a success because 12,000 trees were planted in an area of 12 hectares (almost 30 acres), giving life to a new future forest in the state of Colima.

Reforestation is the restocking of existing forests or woodlands which have been depleted.


Representatives of Manzanillo's Port Authority getting ready to go to work


Planting the first tree,
11,999 to go. Reforestation can be used to improve the quality of human life by soaking up pollution and dust from the air, rebuild natural habitats and ecosystems, and mitigate global warming.

Union receives 3,000 trees to reforest Ixtlahuacán

The 3,000 saplings have been earmarked for churches, parks, and municipal facilities in Ixtlahuacán de los Reyes, Colima.  Ixtlahuacán is a small village of about 6,000 inhabitants, approximately midway between Manzanillo and Colima off Hwy. 54.

The union of workers employed by the city of Ixtlahuacán received the trees to reforest the surrounding area and improve the image in the municipality, as reported by the secretary general of the union Virginia Ruiz Torres.

 She announced that the 3,000 trees were donated by the nursery of Dr. Mancilla Figueroa. The union is doing a cleanup, as well, in the city's parks and gardens, where, Torres said, the elderly of the community like to visit.

He said that this altruistic act is done to compensate for the work of the entire population. There are approximately 85 municipal union workers in Ixtlahuacán.