Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Adopt a Tree

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CARACAS, Sep 7 2009 (IPS) - The Botanical Garden of Venezuela's Central University, a 70-hectare green oasis in the middle of Caracas, this month launched a membership program with the slogan “Adopt a Tree,” for an annual payment of 180 dollars and the donor's name on a plaque at the foot of the tree. Children can obtain the title “seedbed” with an annual contribution of 20 dollars.

“The first day we received 100 calls from interested people. Some want to know if they should plant the tree or come to water it, but those tasks are entrusted to our gardeners. What we are looking for is stronger connections between the park and visitors,” the garden's funding manager Marie Rose told Tierramérica.

The Botanical Garden holds 2,500 different plant species, a library and research center. Its annual budget is about nine million dollars, with 2.6 million coming from the government.