UAE: Giveaway trees to be available for residents as drive to plant 1 million saplings starts

A move to plant one million trees across the UAE within the next year kicked off in Abu Dhabi on Friday under the title "Planting One Million Saplings".

Minister of Climate Change and Environment Dr Amna Al Dahak planted the first tree at Gracia Group’s farm in Al Bahia. Starting January 1, the farm will be giving away a million trees for organisations and community members to grow.

“We aim to make our national produce the top agricultural product in the UAE,” said the minister.

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"Plant One Million Saplings" is only the first of many initiatives to kick off under the newly established National Agricultural Centre, she added, which aims to equip farmers with advanced skills and technologies to elevate the country’s agricultural sector.

“Anyone who wishes to take part in the million saplings initiative can collect a tree for free from Gracia,” said Hamed Al Hamed, founder and Chief Executive of Gracia Group. “Homes, schools, hospitals, sports clubs… we just want people to start planting," he added.

The million trees’ initiative was inspired by Plant the Emirates which is a nationwide project launched last month by UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Dubai Ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Twenty types of decorative and fruitful trees will be available for people to choose from.

“We selected strong trees that have high endurance and do not require sophisticated care, so they are easier to plant and maintain for the longest time. We want people to experience that farming is easy and has great healing benefits.”

The giveaway trees will be equipped with a comprehensive guidebook to ensure they are planted and maintained correctly. Steps to reserve a tree from Gracia will be announced on social media and on the initiative’s website starting January 1. Participants are required to sign a treaty upon collecting their trees, “to confirm that they will capture a video while planting the tree and share it along with location details,” said Al Hamed.

“This is to engage the community and motivate them to take part," he added.

All information will be shared with the public through a designated website and app to provide live updates of the number of trees, locations and planting videos.

The location and identity of who will plant the millionth tree will remain a mystery. “We will launch a contest for people to guess who will plant the millionth tree, anyone who guesses correctly will be eligible to a valuable prize," Ah Hamed said.

• Watch: Dubai students plant first set of Ghaf seeds in 20,001 trees initiative