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Goumbook has partnered with Aventura Parks and Dubai Sustainable Tourism for the first time for its Ghaf Seed Harvesting Program this month, which successfully collected about 152,000 Ghaf seeds. The seed harvesting was held with the help of a team from Aventura and Goumbook, along with more than 20 keen individuals

Ghaf seed harvesting is an essential aspect of Goumbook’s continuing #GiveAGhaf tree planting campaign.

Goumbook has invited the public for the first time to participate and appreciate the process of how the seeds of the UAE national tree are harvested to provide them with a first-hand experience of the seed collection process and learn about the Ghaf tree. The participants joined the team in the collection, extraction of seeds from the pods, sorting, cleaning, drying, weighing them, and storing some of them in seed bombs. 

Tatiana Antonelli Abella, Founder and Managing Director of Goumbook, and Lina Dajani Malas, Managing Director of Aventura Parks welcomed the participants during the three-hour weekend morning event and explained the harvesting process.

Abella said: “Collecting the Ghaf seeds and sorting them is an important aspect of Goumbook’s efforts to continuously promote the planting of Ghaf trees. Requiring less water to grow, Ghaf trees present a great opportunity to contribute to the country’s efforts to conserve the local environment. It takes up to two years for the seeds to germinate and grow into a healthy seedling which is why we collect as many seeds as possible and choose the good ones to produce new and healthy trees.”

The activity also provided a fun and engaging opportunity for the young and young at heart environmentalists to explore the Ghaf forest park in Mushrif Park. The Ghaf trees have been shedding the pods and it was a perfect time to harvest the seeds.