The Bhutan Olympic Committee and Bhutan Ecological Society have signed a Memorandum of Understanding ©BES

The Bhutan Olympic Committee (BOC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Bhutan Ecological Society (BES) to beautify sporting venues in the country.

To kick off the MoU, the two organisations planted saplings of fruit trees at Johnny Strange Memorial Skate Park in Bebena.

The MoU was signed on June 3 to mark Social Forestry Day.

Plans are afoot for more fruit trees to be planted alongside football pitches soon, as well as at other open spaces managed by the BOC.

This ties in to the BES Fruits For All initiative, which aims to nurture green public spaces in urban areas.

Fruit trees can additionally enhance biodiversity in these locations by attracting birds and insects.

Bhutan has been represented in the archery competitions at the last nine Summer Olympic Games ©Getty Images
Bhutan has been represented in the archery competitions at the last nine Summer Olympic Games ©Getty Images

Pem Lama, BES programme lead, said the organisation wanted to incorporate an appreciation for nature into the active lifestyles the BOC is promoting.

"We feel that through sports, BOC is already trying to bring active lifestyles to the young people but through this collaboration, we can encourage young people to be involved with nature," Lama said, per BSS.

"We really feel it is important not just to build structures but also incorporate a lot of green elements in places we live. 

"Our main objective is to bring people closer to the environment and the way we want to do it is through the planting of fruit trees."

The BOC has sent athletes to the last nine Summer Olympic Games, competing in archery and shooting.