Dogwood Alliance holds festival to raise awareness of deforestation

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — The Dogwood Alliance held a Forest Festival at Hugh MacRae Park today to call people to action to help save North Carolina forests.

The event featured food, music, and a chance to sign several environmental campaigns.

According to John Qua, the Alliances’ Community Organizer, events like today’s are important because they educate the public about what is going on in the world around them and the importance of protecting our environment.

“Currently a lot of forests here in the south is being clear cut, made into wood pellets, and actually shipped to Europe to be used as fuel. It’s part of a new sustainability plan that they have to incentivize wood not coal, but it’s actually not sustainable and we don’t want to lose our forests here in North Carolina,” said Qua.

Some local leaders were in attendance, including New Hanover County Commissioner Rob Zapple. Zapple spoke about the effects of the Enviva project in the Port City area.