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FAQ

Frequently asked questions

WOWnature is an initiative by Etifor, Benefit Corporation and University of Padua spin-off. It allows you to support projects that improve the environment in which we live in. It is a hub for nature lovers, managers of green areas, agencies and companies who want to team up and make our territory greener. 

With WOWnature you can do some good to nature and leave it better than you found it! How? You can grow a new tree, protect a forest, or just spend time outdoors reading our blog.

Different natural areas have different needs. In some areas, there is a need to create new forests; in others, there is a need to protect and care for existing ones.

Grow a Tree” allows you to plant and care for a new tree that will make a new forest. Your contribution will support the entire plant growth process:

  • study of the best technical and scientific solutions for each area;
  • cleaning and/or preparation of the planting area;
  • seedling growth in the nursery;
  • planting and maintenance of seedlings;
  • arrangement of access paths, staging areas and information panels;
  • possible achievement and/or continuation of responsible forest management certifications.
  • a personalized adoption certificate, along with your order confirmation email;
  • an invitation to the planting day, where you can plant your tree (if planned for your area);
  • position of the intervention area on a location-based map;
  • periodic updates.

If you have decided to protect an existing forest, your contribution will support interventions to address the “threats” that jeopardize the “health status” of the forest or the ecosystem

In the absence of active care and management, damaging events such as fire, wind damage, spread of alien and invasive species are more likely. At worst, they lead to the death of the trees themselves and the cancellation of their benefits. For example, releasing into the atmosphere the CO2 that the tree had absorbed in its lifetime. If a forest is prone to fire risk, your support can be used to open and maintain some firebreaks. If the forest is threatened by the entry of alien and invasive species, then your intervention may serve to eradicate them.

  • a certificate stating your support for the forest
  • an invitation to the eventual opening day
  • periodic updates

Of course! Adopting a tree is a unique emotion and a perfect gift for all occasions. 

Where to do it? In the “grow a tree” section or in the “adopt or gift” section. When we ask you “is this a gift?” click on “yes”. Select “add recipient.” The recipient’s email must be different from the sender’s email. Do not enter two identical emails.

Want to send the gift right away? Click “add recipient”. If you prefer to complete it later, click “add to cart” and you can send it, after the purchase, from your personal area. It is mandatory to click on the gift option, since it is not possible to modify your choice. 

The gift recipient will receive a digital gift and will be able to download the adoption certificate and stay up-to-date on their tree by registering on the site.

The gift recipient will receive a digital “gift wrap” and will be able to download the adoption certificate and stay up-to-date on his or her tree by registering on the site.

Hello, welcome to our community! If you’re reading this FAQ, you’ve probably received one of our gift trees and have some questions about what to do. Here is all the information you need to know:

You should have received a “gift” via e-mail with all the directions, if not, please contact our support. If you still have doubts contact us at this form.

After you sign up on our portal, you will be able to download your adoption certificate and stay updated on your tree! We will notify you when there will be a planting day and when the tree will be planted and visible on the map.

Make the most important days of your life unique: you can adopt a tree for any important occasion, from christenings to weddings!

Adopting a tree is much more than an original gift, it is a useful gift: thanks to your help we will plant or protect a tree thus helping to combat the climate crisis and improve the land around us.

For orders over 60 trees, you are entitled to a custom quote: contact us

Once you have completed your purchase you can decide to:

  • send the adoption certificate, in digital format* to your guests or
  • receive a personalized graphic* to give as a gift.


*
The service does not include printing and mailing the certificates. To minimize our impact on the environment all our materials are sent only via e-mail.

In all our reforestation projects, we use native species with genetics consistent with the planting site. We never use non-ecologically suitable species (invasive alien species), because our goal is to preserve and enhance the biodiversity of each area. There may be some exceptions – outside of natural ecosystems where the purposes may be different from the restoration of natural habitats and more oriented, instead, to the maintenance of traditional landscapes or the creation of green spaces or infrastructure in urban areas – where compliance with these criteria may be less stringent because of the specific objectives of the project, but we always ensure that we take special care not to use invasive or ecologically harmful species.

In Europe, the optimal period to plant trees is from October to March, with breaks due to snow and frost. Oppositely, in many tropical countries trees are planted before the start of the rainy season. We will let you know as soon as we have information about your tree!

Etifor, creator of WOWnature, is committed to planting the trees no later than 24 months from the time you purchase the service as also stated in the Terms of Use.

Trees are planted and maintained in partnership with forest owners and local businesses. Those who got a tree will be promptly informed about the planting period and dedicated events.

Until planting day, the seedlings remain inside the nurseries where they grow protected and pampered by experienced staff. The nurseries provide us with the plants’ “passport” -a document that guarantees the region of origin and the health status of the future tree. Once the documents are ready and the appropriate seedling height has been reached, we will begin the actual reforestation.

If planned for the area you have chosen, you will be able to come and plant in person the trees you have adopted, gifted, or received as gifts. In any case, after the planting event (or when we finish the planting activities, if the planting event is not scheduled for the area you have chosen), you will find a pointer placed on the map, visible from your personal area. The pointer is linked to coordinates, and by clicking on it, you will be able to see its location. Find out where we have reforested thanks to your contribution. If you would like to learn more, you can read this in-depth article. contribution. If you would like to learn more, you can read this in-depth article.

We have often been asked “how much CO2 does a tree absorb?” or “how much CO2 will the tree I adopted absorb?” The correct answer to this question is “it depends.” In fact, the CO2 absorption operated by the individual tree depends on so many factors and their relationship. Having said that, we still wanted to provide an indicative reference value for each species. In this document you will find an explanation of the estimation model used, its limitations and the assumptions behind it.

The projects you find in the “Protect a Forest” section do not involve planting trees, but other activities to protect or improve existing forests and ecosystems. For example, they involve creating firebreaks, removing invasive species, and more.

In order to implement such activities – which are developed on well-defined areas within which there is a given stock of forest carbon – funds are needed. You can contribute by supporting the project through the dedicated “bundles”. By knowing how much your contribution is in relation to the total funds needed to realize the activity and the total positive impacts (e.g.: conservation of forest carbon stock, expressed in kilograms of CO2 equivalent) that the project achieves or maintains, we can tell you how many of the positive impacts we are able to achieve or maintain are attributable to your contribution.

When you see the FSC logo in the “Certifications” section, it means that the positive impacts of responsible management operated on the area have been verified or validated according to FSC procedures. When the FSC logo is not there, it means that this verification or validation process has yet to take place and is therefore a preliminary estimate that will be verified or validated at a later date.

If you have adopted a tree, you are part of our community and will receive periodic updates via email.

If you want to stay informed but haven’t yet supported one of our projects, all it takes is one click: subscribe to our newsletter.

Of course, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn and don’t forget to read our blog!

By logging into your private area, you can view all the news from our blog that states the progress you have achieved in the places you have chosen to protect or where you have adopted trees. Don’t forget to follow our Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube channels, where we periodically post content about WOWnature projects.

 

Our projects are developed in collaboration with the owners and managers of the areas on which we operate. We have a constant exchange of information with them or with any third parties, such as forestry firms or cooperatives, who are entrusted with the execution of planting, maintenance and/or environmental improvement works. In addition to this, we have a monitoring plan for the areas on which we operate. Therefore, we are also, in the first person with our team, ascertaining the state of health of the trees and woods on which we operate, taking the necessary countermeasures where necessary. In addition, we always try to place our interventions within projects with a long-term vision, in which the area manager himself has an interest in taking care of the area precisely because of the benefits it provides. Finally, we try to bring as many areas as possible up to FSC® certification, a rigorous standard of environmentally, socially and economically responsible management

Private companies, associations, and other organizations can enter the world of WOWnature for multiple reasons: support an existing project, either alone or in partnership, or share their initiatives and launch new proposals!

In addition, thanks to the collaboration with Etifor, a team specialized in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is at your disposal for targeted advice. Apply now or find out more by reading the page dedicated to our partners.

Thanks to the partnership with Etifor, you can request targeted consultations regarding the following topics: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), sustainable investments, green branding and green marketing, FSC certification.

Request a consultation through the form and find out more on the partner page and at www.etifor.com.

The active payment methods on WOWnature are:

  • credit card
  • Paypal*

*Please note that you do not need to have a Paypal account to purchase through this method.

Yes, our site is secure!

We use the HTTPS protocol, a secure and certified variant of HTTP, the protocol normally used on the web. In addition, an SSL certificate is active on the site and we use only controlled and guaranteed payment methods for your purchases.

SSL is short for Secure Sockets Layer: a security protocol that creates encrypted links between a server and a browser. This link ensures that all data exchanged between the server and the browser, remains private and intact.

You can delete an order during the checkout phase, before finalizing the payment, without any problem.

The Consumer Code does not provide for Right of Withdrawal because through the wownature.eu portal you purchase services and not tangible goods. Therefore, we cannot guarantee you any kind of refund for your contribution to support our reforestation and environmental improvement projects.

To find out more about the terms and conditions of sale, we invite you to carefully read the directions.

We are sorry, but your contribution is not deductible on your return because charitable donations are a voluntary donation of money or goods to non-governmental organizations, NGOs and cultural entities in general. Our company is a real LLC, so it is not included. 

If because of this detail you will not be able to directly support our projects, don’t worry! You will be of great help just by spreading the word! It’s a great way to start changing the world from the bottom up.

The new Italian tax regulations require the issuance of an electronic document that is sent directly to the Sistema Di Interscambio (SDI). Receipts and invoices will be issued and uploaded directly into your tax drawer.

Check the data you enter carefully and report any errors to us.

Remember that your contribution is not deductible or deductible on your tax return, because liberal donations are a voluntary donation of money or goods to nongovernmental organizations, NGOs and cultural entities in general, so it does not include our company, which is a real LLC.

For concerns or questions, contact us specifying that you need support for the WOWnature website.

If you are a green area owner or manager and would like to be featured on our portal contact us.

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PRIVACY POLICY
The personal data collected through this form are processed by Etifor srl in compliance with the GDPR privacy rules and will be kept exclusively for the purposes of the WOWnature initiative. The data will not be disclosed to third parties and subscribers may exercise their rights under Articles 15 to 22 of EU Regulation 679/2016, where applicable, by sending an email to privacy@etifor.com or by clicking on the cancellation link contained in all newsletters' footer.