Every 5th of June marks World Environment Day. That day has gone and passed already, but with the recent bushfires in Australia and the Amazon rainforest fires from last year, it is only apt that we take a moment to think about our planet and how amazing it is to still be surviving. Earth is a survivor; with human help, it can and will keep on thriving for future generations. That is why today’s Fanbase Spotlight is a little different. Over the past couple of weeks, while scrolling through Twitter, I came across an Australian based project that was held last year, in 2019, for RM’s birthday. The project was called The Mono Forest Project. May 17, 2019, Isabella tweeted asking ARMY, specifically Australian ARMY, if they were willing to plant a forest on behalf of RM. The idea Isabella had mentioned was the play on Kim Namjoon’s name. In Korean, the word for “tree” is “namu” similar to RM’s birth name “Namjoon”. His love for nature and the wooden elements he has in his recording studio made raising money for a forest as a birthday project obvious. The response from ARMY about this project was outstanding. With over two thousand retweets and over four thousand likes, it was clear ARMY were willing to respond to the call.
Only two days later, Isabella had set up a GoFundMe page to raise money and their new twitter account, The Mono Forest Project, was up and running. The goal was to raise $1000 Australian dollars to establish one forest - the money going towards a well known environmental conservation organization in Australia, The Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife. (This organization is now helping plant one million trees in response to the Australian bushfire crisis, you can read more about ARMY’s response to the bushfires here.) In 24 hours, ARMY had already raised $800 for the cause, and a few hours later had surpassed that first goal.
A new goal was then set by the Mono Project runners of $2000 - allowing for the establishment of two forests instead of the one. ARMY all over the world decided to help pitch in, by either retweeting the cause or donating. Other ARMYs translated the tweets to share what ARMYs in the “land down under” were doing in RM’s name. During the fundraiser, facts were also shared about trees and forests, urging people to think about planting their own tree and the rehabilitation of land.
May, 26, only one week after the opening of the project their $2000 milestone was complete. ARMY had raised enough money to fund the planting of two full forests. And on June 3, The Mono Forest Project had donated the money towards The Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife.
Online donations continued to stay open up until RM’s birthday on September 12 of that year. A small thank you to ARMYs was sent out to a limited number of donors, artwork by twitter user @piny_tree was printed onto a card made from cotton from recycled t-shirts.
The two forests that were funded by ARMY created a 60,000-hectare national park in Nilpena, South Australia, and aided in funding the expansion of 2000 trees in the Deep Creek Conservation Park located on South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula at Blowhole Beach. Over 100 species of native animals live in this area including bandicoots, echidnas, firetails, and the tiny emu-wren bird. The FNPW hopes with the expansion of these forested areas the Glossy Black Cockatoo will once again return to its homeland in the Deep Creek region.
After the closing of donations via PayPal and their GoFundMe account, a final payment of $1147 Australian dollars was also donated to the FNPW, creating a grand total of $3147.56 AUD or an estimated $2200 USD. The Mono Forest Project is now featured as one of the ARMY charity projects in One In An ARMY’s Charity Map. With the success of the Mono Forest Project and many others around the world, it is of no wonder ARMY has been titled by the UN as one of the Top Rank Sustainable Global Groups of 2019.
After the passing of World Environment Day and the upcoming National Tree Day in Australia on August 2, I would urge ARMY to breathe in the outside. Open your windows and take in the wonder of mother nature. If you have grass in your backyard or a backyard at all, take off your shoes to feel the grass and soil beneath your feet. Contemplate the beauty of nature and the peacefulness it brings to mankind. Nature is a wondrous thing, as ARMYs we should be proud of the work we and other ARMYs around the globe do in helping take care of this beautiful planet earth.
That is why today’s Fanbase Spotlight is The Mono Forest Project.
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Written By: Caitlin
Edit By: Ash
Checked By: Euni