“What can automakers do to protect the environment?” To answer that question, Hyundai Motor Company has been conducting various eco-friendly social contribution projects through the ‘IONIQ Forest’ campaign. Starting in 2016, the automaker, together with a social enterprise called Tree Planet, planted about 23,000 trees in a landfill in the Incheon metropolitan area to create a forest that blocks fine dust. And from 2019, they conducted a campaign called Forest in Classrooms - donating about 9,000 air purifying plants to 33 elementary schools in Seoul and Incheon for two years - for the environment and children's health.
Small efforts made meaningful changes; Trees in the fine-dust-barrier forest grew taller than people. They also absorb 225 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year and 1,100 kilograms of fine dust per year, doing what forests are supposed to do.
What about the classroom forest? 10 air-purifying plants placed in each classroom increased the average humidity by 10% and reduced fine dust by 30% and ultrafine dust by 20%. Not only has the air quality been improved, but it is also improving the psychological stability of children and teaching them how to connect with nature. After gaining confidence from past activities, Hyundai wants to take a step forward with the ‘IONIQ Forest Sinsido’ project in 2021 to find a solution to climate change for future generations.
In April 2021, Hyundai Motor Company visited Sinsido with Tree Planet to create the ‘IONIQ Forest’. Sinsido, located 50km southwest of Gunsan-si, Jeollabuk-do, is the largest and most picturesque of the 24 islands of Gogunsan Islands. Sinsido boasts of its beauty enough to be designated as the Sinsido National Recreational Forest this year, but the environmental infrastructure was insufficient.
So, Hyundai Motor Company started the ‘IONIQ Forest Sinsido’ project to add the abundance of forest trails and preserve the diversity of animals and plants living in Sinsido. From planting young trees to planting trees in various places in Sinsido, including trails and forest trails, in the hope that more people can enjoy and experience the forest. The types of trees that have taken root in Sinsido are those that can thrive in Sinsido from a biodiversity point of view. It is a tree that looks like a small grass now, but in a few years, it will grow tall and make Sinsido green.
IONIQ Forest Sinsido is full of eco-friendly lifestyles that both enjoy the environment and protect nature. You can enjoy the beautiful scenery of Sinsido by taking a leisurely stroll along the forest path, and you can plant trees freely while enjoying Plogging and Clean Hiking, where you pick up trash while jogging or riding a bicycle. The more people sympathize with and participate in these activities, the more beautiful Sinsido will become.
The joy of enjoying every nook and cranny of the Sinsido on the shuttle car ‘IONIQ 5’ that circulates throughout the Sinsido is also a sustainable eco-friendly life that can only be found at ‘IONIQ Forest Sinsido’. Anyone visiting Sinsido can enjoy the Ioniq 5, housing Hyundai Motor's eco-friendly electric vehicle technology. If you are in your IONIQ 5, an electric vehicle with a classic design resembling a pony of the past and a futuristic icon, you can experience something that opens your heart and gives you hope for the future.
“The valuable experience of walking through the forest, leaving no traces, and protecting the forest as it was before I stayed, gave me more than just rest, but enlightenment. Now that you know you have to protect it in order to continue enjoying it, you should keep practicing, right?”, “A Zero Waste trip that starts from the moment you arrive in Sinsido! It was a wonderful trip as expected. I don't think I'll ever forget the exhilaration of driving the circuit with the IONIQ 5."
Those who have visited ‘IONIQ Forest Sinsido’ are unanimous. Living a life that cares about the environment is by no means easy, but when you realize the value of nature, you will face a different daily life.
Thanks to ‘IONIQ Forest’, the air in the metropolitan area has become cleaner and children’s classrooms have become more comfortable. Hyundai Motor Company, which has proven that caring for the environment can change the world, will expand various participatory eco-friendly campaigns such as zero waste and carbon-free eco-friendly activities through ‘IONIQ Forest Sinsido’. Please join 'IONIQ Forest Sinsido', which started long ago with the belief that one tree planted today will be the beginning of a forest with hundreds of thousands of trees?
The History of IONIQ Forest▶ Hyundai Motor Company and Tree Planet planted 23,250 trees in reclaimed land in the Incheon metropolitan area for five years from 2016 to reduce fine dust in the metropolitan area.
▶ For two years from 2019, the automaker carried out a project to create a classroom forest in 924 classrooms of 33 elementary schools in the metropolitan area to reduce fine dust in the classroom and provide environmental education to remind the next generation of the preciousness of nature.
▶ From 2021, the company is creating a native plant conservation forest in the Sinsido National Recreational Forest to preserve biodiversity in the area.
HMG Journal Operation Team
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