Building on this, IAMovement hosted a family-day type event in the Queen’s Park Savannah where about 200 trees were given out to members of the public attending to plant in their homes and public spaces. Various other activities involved in the day included mural painting, live music, an open-mic session for participants to share thoughts and remarks, and the formation of a large human #Heart4Climate with overhead drone shots being taken.

The Amazon rainforest is facing a devastating crisis today in 2024, with wildfires raging across the region at an alarming rate. Fire hotspots have increased by 104% compared to the previous year, setting a new record for the highest number since 2005. The fires are causing widespread damage to the rainforest, releasing vast amounts of carbon into the atmosphere and threatening the livelihoods of millions of people. It is clear that many of the fires are man-made, given the extreme humid conditions in the rainforest which typically don’t result in easy ignition – but the felling of forests for intentional land-clearing and subsequent land desiccation and the setting of fires is greatly exacerbating the situation. It is then further worsened by ongoing drought caused by loss of forests which naturally and normally generate their own localized rainfall, which has only created dry conditions which fuel the fires. The Brazilian government has launched investigations into suspected arson and deployed firefighting teams to combat the flames, but the scale of the crisis remains overwhelming. Urgent action is needed to protect the Amazon rainforest and mitigate the devastating consequences of these fires.