"Trees Planted in Virtual World Become 'Forest of Recovery' for Wildfire-Damaged Areas"

An Arbor Day event will be held on an extended virtual world (hereinafter Metaverse) platform, where planting one tree in the virtual world results in planting two trees in actual wildfire-affected areas. The purpose of the event is to raise public awareness about wildfires and to help indirectly participate in forest restoration in wildfire-damaged areas.

Provided by Korea Forest Service

The Korea Forest Service announced on the 20th that it will promote the "My Tree Ownership Campaign" with this concept from April 20 to 24, in celebration of the 78th Arbor Day this year.

Planned and implemented last year in cooperation with Dunamu and others, this campaign will again create a virtual forest in the Metaverse this year, where users plant trees in the virtual forest, matched by planting real trees in wildfire-affected areas.

Through the campaign last year, the Korea Forest Service planted 10,000 birch trees in the wildfire-affected area of Andong, Gyeongbuk Province, creating a 7-hectare "Forest of Recovery."

This year, the campaign plans to plant 30,000 trees, including crape myrtle, in the wildfire-affected area of Uljin, Gyeongbuk Province, establishing a 10-hectare "Forest of Recovery."

To participate in the campaign, users can search for "2ndblock" online, enter the "virtual forest," and follow instructions to perform tasks such as wildfire suppression participation, removal of wildfire-damaged trees, and production of seedlings for restoring wildfire-affected areas, then move to the tree-planting space to plant one virtual tree.

During this process, users can access visual materials on wildfire prevention and indirectly experience the process of forest restoration after wildfire damage.

The Korea Forest Service will also provide participants with commemorative gifts through a lottery, including seedling exchange coupons called "Grootcon," admission tickets to the Suncheonman International Garden Expo (April 1 to October 31), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and forest welfare service gift certificates.

"Grootcon" is a compound word combining "Groot," symbolizing the Korea Forest Service, and "gifticon," meaning a gift (voucher), which can be exchanged for seedlings at 126 tree markets operated by forest cooperatives nationwide.

For more detailed information about the campaign, please refer to the official Second Forest website.

Nam Sung-hyun, Administrator of the Korea Forest Service, said, "We ask for active participation in wildfire prevention to protect the lives, property, and forests of the people from wildfires."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.