Dear Mountain Partnership members, We are very pleased to inform you that the Mountain Partnership is partnering with the Living Chapel, an initiative to green the planet by promoting the principles of the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Pope Francis's Laudato Si' environmental encyclical. The first Living Chapel is a work of ecological art being created by an international team of architects and artists as a space for meditation and reflection on sustainable development. It is a green structure created from recycled materials covered with living plants, including sapling trees which will be donated to groups across Italy at the end of the summer as the cornerstones of new Laudato Si' Gardens. The initiative wishes to encourage collaboration with many countries to protect and rehabilitate the natural environment through concrete and sustainable actions, by planting trees to establish new green spaces of meditation and environmental education, which will contribute to the wellbeing of future generations and inspire people to unite around the common goal of caring for our planet. Because the Living Chapel's principles of working together to care for and enhance the conservation of our planet are also the pillars of the Mountain Partnership, it would be great if you could take part in this project by supporting the initiative to establish a Laudato Si' Garden in your country. The worldwide planting ceremonies of the Laudato Si' Gardens will be held on Sunday, 24 May 2020, during the Living Chapel inauguration in Saint Peter's Square. A documentary will be filmed on that occasion, and all participating countries and organizations are invited to submit video clips of their planting ceremonies to be included. Governments, NGOs, schools and municipalities wishing to join the initiative will identify an area of their village or town to be restored by planting local tree species. The organizers will be providing free materials explaining best practices for planting trees and maintaining gardens, as well as contact with forestry experts around the world who will be happy to provide guidance and answer questions regarding local planting projects. Saplings and seedlings could be provided by nurseries, while the ongoing care of the gardens should be a joint effort of everyone involved in the initiative, to demonstrate how small actions can transform challenges and hopes into concrete results. Please find attached a pdf document presenting the Living Chapel initiative. A welcome package will be provided, including a set of unique art pieces representing the project, hand-crafted by Italian artists. In order to join the global launch on 24 May, the organizers kindly ask for your reply to Alberto del Lungo ([log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>) by Monday, 16 March 2020. Kind regards, The Mountain Partnership Secretariat ######################################################################## To unsubscribe from the Mountain-Partnership-L list, click the following link: &*TICKET_URL(Mountain-Partnership-L,SIGNOFF);