World Youth Day (WYD) Seoul 2027 and the Laudato Si' Movement are driving a year-long global tree planting campaign, running until the encounter in the capital of South Korea. The campaign, titled "Cultivating Hope, Caring for Creation and Preparing for WYD Seoul 2027," invites young people and communities worldwide to plant and nurture trees in their localities, share their stories, and participate in a growing global movement. According to the online counter, over 12,400 trees have already been planted.
The campaign is inspired by the encyclical Laudato Si', Pope Francis's ecological and social document published in 2015, and began with the Season of Creation 2026, an ecumenical and environmental initiative that unites millions of Christians worldwide for moments of prayer and ecological action. The local organizing committee of WYD Seoul 2027, in collaboration with the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life, a body of the Holy See, planted a tree at the Jeoldusan Martyrs Shrine, in the South Korean capital, on July 9, 2025, officially launching the campaign.
Lorna Gold, executive director of the Laudato Si' Movement, stated that WYD is a powerful reminder that young people are already transforming the world and that each tree planted is "a concrete act of faith and a living sign of hope." A volunteer from the Life Breath Campaign team of the Local Organizing Committee of WYD Seoul 2027 highlighted that the campaign is a meaningful way to put faith into practice, by caring for creation and our common home.
The campaign will also contribute to carbon emission offsetting efforts associated with the preparation and celebration of WYD Seoul 2027, which will take place from August 3-8, 2027, with the theme "Take Courage, I Have Conquered the World." Those who plant a tree are invited to share photographs and stories on the Global Tree Planting Map, which already records initiatives from communities across the planet, including in the Diocese of Leiria-Fatima.
