The Canopy Project
Indonesian Communities Celebrate Weddings With New Environmental Hope
February 10, 2022
Throughout Indonesia, reforestation efforts have been given a unique twist. After the governments at various levels came into funding issues for their reforestation programs, officials implemented a new rule; in order to be granted a marriage license, couples must plant trees or provide saplings to government reforestation programs.
The amount of saplings ranges across the region, requiring from two to ten trees per couple. This approach not only tackles funding issues in a creative way, but also inspires the community to approach reforestation efforts with a new perspective. Through the act of marriage, couples can plant a tangible symbol of their connection while also healing the environment around them. Some couples have even chosen to incorporate the planting of the saplings into their wedding ceremony.
Erlyn Lasar and Dion Lamanepa celebrated their wedding in the province of East Nusa Tengarra in June of 2021. The couple not only planted the trees required by the reforestation program, but opted to make their entire wedding incorporate an ecological theme. The couple spent months tending to 1,400 seedlings to give to their wedding guests to take home and plant.
Community involvement in reforestation efforts is critically important in the fight against deforestation and climate change. Through education, locals can be empowered to take control over the wellbeing of their communities.
The Canopy Project by EARTHDAY.ORG places the local community at the center of reforestation efforts, providing training, support, and resources for individuals to come together to revitalize their area. This method of reforestation has a resounding impact on society, echoing across multiple aspects of people’s livelihoods. Farmers and other residents are educated about how to tend to newly planted trees. The newly available biodiversity and soil nutrients help other crops grow, increasing the income accessible to small-scale local farmers, while also increasing the nutrition of the community by increasing both the amounts, and the diversity, of food available. As the surrounding environment recovers, so does the health of those who live there. By centering the community, reforestation efforts such as The Canopy Project help those left most vulnerable from deforestation and climate change.
This year, make a donation to The Canopy Project in honor of a loved one and send them an eCard telling them about your gift. Your donation can plant a tree in one of many locations around the world The Canopy Project seeks to reforest. Your donation helps the environment, and the community living with the direct, harsh effects of deforestation, climate change, and other environmental emergencies.
