Quillota Respira (Quillota Breathes) facing climate change is the largest urban arborization project in the country, the result of a virtuous alliance between public, private, and academic sectors focusing on mitigating some of the most important effects of climate change. Latin American countries are vulnerable to the accelerated process of climate change; thus, the project seeks to plant one tree per each inhabitant, totaling 100,000 trees within the next five years, transforming the different stakeholders into agents of change charged with the task of improving the city's environmental conditions. One of the most important commitments of the project is to care for and preserve more than 30 native species planted in different city quadrants as well as creating awareness and environmental education for Quillota inhabitants through education programs in schools, universities, among neighbors´ associations, in public spaces with a great affluence of people and on the Internet. The program has established certain activities involving the community:
- Large-scale plantations: they involve the whole community of Quillota in the arborization of native and exotic species, in specific sectors of the city (under normal sanitary conditions).
- Educational material: developing and providing educational contents on the project’s digital and social network platforms.
- Talks: environmental awareness and caring for the planet offered in kindergartens, schools, at neighbors´ association meetings, spaces of citizen participation and senior resident centers.
The organizations involved in the project have implemented a permanent and participatory model that includes the three initiatives mentioned above.
Given the context of the COVID 19 health contingency, work on plantations was voluntarily stopped earlier this year and re-taken in September 2020 with a trial period, helping to mitigate the risks of contagion and accepting a delay in project planning. The initiative is to finish in 2023.
To boost the participation of the community, we have launched a free e-learning course called " Building Green Bridges Together". Its main objective is to promote the importance of preventive actions to stop climate change. More than 125 people from the Quillota area have taken the course so far, with over 200 hours of training and contributing to the sustainability of the project.
The green areas creation project focuses on decreasing temperatures, supporting, and educating the communities which try to combat climate change and improving the life quality of Quillota residents. To date, 15,000 trees have been planted.
The project has turned Enel into a key player in the fight against climate change and community training in matters related to sustainability and climate action, given that it is one of the most important projects of this kind in the country. The CO2 capture of the 100,000 trees to be planted will mitigate the impacts of the area´s industrial park.
