Last weekend mainland Greece was ravaged by fire. Thousands of homes were evacuated. Agriculture and pasture land was scorched, trees were burned, wildlife and nature were harmed. The tragedy of the situation is that it is probable the fire was man made.In the immediate aftermath of the destruction Manya and others within her community have worked together to organise an exhibition of arts and crafts to raise funds for the reforestation of the area.
The environmentalists amongst you will be all too aware of the importance of reforestation. Not only for ecological, environmental and economical reasons but also to prevent desertificaton which is becoming a very real threat to European countries.
A blog has been created to document the progress of the 'Art for Trees' campaign and to provide information about how you can help. Press releases will be made this week to advertise the campaign and most importantly appeal to the creative folk of our shared planet asking for donations of arts and crafts which will be exhibited and sold to raise money needed for the reforestation of the afflicted land.
Please help the 'Art for Trees' project. I have listed some ways that you could help below:
- Donate arts or crafts
- Follow the blog 'Attika SOS'
- Forward the blog link to any friends, family or colleagues that you feel may be interested in this project (but please only send the link to those you believe will want to see it)
- Write a post on your blog informing your readers about this project (never under estimate the word of mouth or power of the metaphorical pen)
- Write suggestions or messages of support on 'Attica SOS'
- Post the link to your myspace, facebook, twitter, bebo or other networking site homepage
The picture used at the head of this post is 'Athena' by Gustav Klint. Mythology tells that Athena struck her spear into the earth and an olive tree sprung in its place. The place that the olive tree sprang was named Athens after the Goddess Athena. Olives through the ages have symbolised prosperity, health, wisdom, civilization and peace. Now, when I think of an olive tree, my mind pictures Manya's olive tree full of birds. The green pocket that sheltered the wildlife displaced by fire.
Thank you for taking the time to read this post. Thank you to everyone that has already made kind offers of support. I will email you personally over the next few days.
