The renowned Assisted Reproduction center Institut Marquès, together with the environmental association l’Escurçó, promoted a very special project to leave a better world for the children it helps to be born, the “forest of embryos”. Since the project began, more than 500 trees have already grown on the mountain of Mare de Déu de la Roca, in Mont-roig del Camp, Tarragona.
What does each tree planted in the “forest of embryos” mean?
Each oak tree that is planted corresponds to a boy or girl born thanks to Institut Marquès. In the last year more than 800 families of 25 different nationalities have asked to plant a tree in the name of their child. Each tree is identified with a plaque indicating the baby’s first name and date of birth. The Institut Marquès provides families with a photo and geolocation of their tree, so they can visit it whenever they want, something that has also attracted visitors. In the “forest of embryos” there are trees planted for children from all continents: British, Spanish, Irish, Italian, Swiss, Norwegian, but also from the United States, Australia, Canada, Brazil, Estonia, Saudi Arabia, New Caledonia or Singapore, among others.
Why plant trees in Tarragona?
The project was born more than a year ago. With the support of the institutions of Mont-roig del Camp, l’Escurçó and Institut Marquès have renewed the agreement to plant 1,000 more trees in the mountain of Tarragona, which suffered a serious fire in the 90s.
In addition, according to studies conducted by Institut Marquès on semen quality in Spain, Tarragona is one of the provinces where men have the worst semen quality. This is another reason why they chose this province to create the “forest of embryos”. According to research by Institut Marquès, chemical toxins and environmental pollution are closely related to sterility in highly industrialized areas like this one.