Planting trees in the central division of Highway 307, the road from Cancun to Playa del Carmen might seem a tall order but it is happening thanks to a reforestation project spearheaded by Xcaret in which a number of Riviera Maya hotels, including Royal Resorts, are participating.
The project encompasses a 50-kilometer stretch of highway from Xoximilco Park just south of Cancun Airport to Xcaret Park. Some 22,000 native trees such as ceibas, the sacred tree of the Maya, cedar, ciricote and the pink-flowering maculis are being planted in the camellon or central division of the road. In addition to beautifying the highway and providing shade, this initiative will restore the habitat for wildlife, especially birds.
To date, Grand Residences has donated over 200 ciricote and akits trees from its on-site nursery.
Hotels can participate by donating trees, reforesting the area bordering the highway in front of their property and in the care and watering of the newly planted trees.
Xcaret has been working on reforestation projects in its parks and in Cancun and the Riviera Maya for 25 years now. The Xcaret nursery was founded in 1992 to propagate 30 native species of trees and shrubs with an output of 8,000 saplings per year. It now raises more than 200 species of native and ornamental trees and shrubs and produces more than 200,000 plants a year.
The nursery supplies the trees and plants that keep Xcaret, Xel-Ha, Xplor, Xenses and Xoximilco parks looking beautiful and have also been used to rescue green areas, parks, avenues and other public areas in Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Puerto Morelos, Tulum, Ciudad Chemuyil and the colonial town of Valladolid, in the neighboring state of Yucatan.
