Acción Andina Featured in Google Arts & Culture’s World Wide Wood Exhibition

We’re thrilled to share that Acción Andina is part of Google Arts & Culture’s new digital exhibition, World Wide Wood: the largest online celebration of trees and the people protecting them.

This global initiative brings together over 113 partners from 32 countries, sharing stories that highlight the importance of trees for biodiversity, climate resilience, cultural identity, and community wellbeing. We’re honored to represent the high Andes, where native Polylepis forests play a vital role in storing water, protecting fragile mountain ecosystems, and sustaining life for millions.

Acción Andina’s featured story traces the journey of Queuña Raymi, an Indigenous-led reforestation festival born in Peru and now celebrated across South America. Inspired by ancestral traditions of reciprocity (Ayni) and communal service (Minka), communities gather each year to plant thousands of native trees in a single day—accompanied by music, dance, and collective purpose. Through vivid storytelling, photography, and video, the World Wide Wood exhibit brings to life the steep trails, rugged terrain, and deep cultural ties that shape every Acción Andina planting event. 

Polylepis forests are among the world’s highest-elevation forests, uniquely adapted to trap moisture from the air and feed the rivers that flow into the Amazon basin. As the Andes face record droughts and glacier loss, restoring these forests is one of the most powerful ways to protect water and build resilience.

Being part of World Wide Wood helps share this message with a global audience by raising awareness about the role of native forests and Indigenous stewardship in climate solutions. Explore our story, meet the communities behind the work, and see how tradition, science, and solidarity are transforming mountain landscapes across South America.

👉 View the full exhibit on Google Arts & Culture