Pocheon City and National Institute of Forest Science Launch 'My Tree Ownership Campaign'... Distributing 5,000 Trees

Pocheon City, Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Baek Young-hyun) and the Forest Technology Management Research Institute of the National Institute of Forest Science under the Korea Forest Service (Director Hwang Jae-hong) held the "My Tree Ownership Campaign" for citizens at Pocheon Sports Park on the 28th, successfully conducting a tree distribution event.

On the 28th, Baek Young-hyun, mayor of Pocheon, held the "My Tree Campaign" for citizens at Pocheon Sports Park and conducted a tree distribution event. Photo by Pocheon City

Now in its 12th year, this campaign, themed "Life in the Forest, Forest in Life," was organized to help citizens experience the joy of planting and nurturing trees themselves and to remind them of the importance of forests and the healing value they bring to daily life.

At the event, a total of 10 species of seedlings, including the beautiful flowering Camellia, Cornus officinalis, and wild cherry trees, as well as medicinal trees such as Sorbus alnifolia, Kalopanax septemlobus, and Maackia amurensis, totaling about 5,000 seedlings, were prepared. The distribution was conducted by allowing each citizen to receive five trees, attracting many participants.

Additionally, the ecological value and historical significance of Gwangneung Forest were promoted, alongside a wildfire prevention campaign during the spring season to raise awareness about forest protection.

Mayor Baek Young-hyun of Pocheon said, "This event is more than just distributing trees; it is a meaningful occasion where citizens become the main agents in nurturing forests and share the importance of ecological conservation. We hope that the citizens who received trees will plant and care for them with the spirit of protecting our forests and actively participate in wildfire prevention."

Meanwhile, as wildfires have been spreading nationwide and the national crisis alert for wildfire disasters has been raised to the "Severe" level, Pocheon City has entered an emergency duty system.

The city will deploy public officials from 41 departments and 14 townships during vulnerable times for wildfires, such as weekends and holidays when visitors gather, to conduct wildfire surveillance and crack down on illegal burning activities.

In particular, strict measures such as fines will be imposed if illegal burning occurs without permission in areas adjacent to forests.