A year and a half – that is how long it took for citizens to plant 10 trees on municipal land in Varna. Eighteen months from the first letter to the municipality of Varna expressing the intention to plant trees during a protest action to the implementation of the initiative.
The Public Center for Environment and Sustainable Development supported the citizens of the Alen Mak area, who turned to the organization for advice after months of silence from the municipal administration.
“Our modest idea for trees in Alen Mak was largely realized thanks to your support,” wrote Nina Kirkova, initiator of the civic action for afforestation. A few days ago, residents of the area managed to officially plant 10 trees and as many shrubs with the idea of caring for them and watering them.
And here is the background:
On the eve of June 5—International Environment Day—residents of Alen Mak planted a plane tree at the protest site behind the Varna Free University bus stop. This marked 14 months since the start of their initiative to reforest the area.
For more than a year, residents of Alen Mak have been sending a series of signals and proposals for afforestation to the Municipality of Varna. They propose planting trees before the sidewalks and asphalt pavement are laid, while repair work is underway on Petar Popov Street and Prof. Petar Nikolov Street. They also declare their written willingness to provide seedlings of the species, sizes, and quantities recommended by municipal specialists, as well as volunteer labor for planting and maintenance. They are collecting signatures to declare the support of the majority of the residents in the area. “This is a landslide area, and trees are being cut down on a massive scale for new construction,” said Radoslav Kirkov, one of the organizers of the civic initiative. This is a landslide area, and trees are being cut down on a massive scale for new construction, said Radoslav Kirkov, one of the organizers of the civic initiative.
By the end of last year, they had sent a total of three letters – proposals to the Municipality of Varna and two to the Regional Administration of Varna. All of them remained unanswered. On June 4 this year, Deputy Mayor Ilia Koev personally attended the sycamore tree planting event and promised to assist with the planting of other trees in the area. The Municipality of Varna will participate if there are initiatives in other parts of the city, Koev said at the time. When asked by Ecovarna.info about the procedure for planting trees by citizens, Koev replied that the municipal directorate “Engineering Infrastructure and Improvement” deals with the permits. After submitting a request to the department, citizens should receive a response. An arborist must assess which species are suitable for the area in question, and only then can a permit be issued, Koev explained.
The initiators of the reforestation in Alen Mak are conducting an experiment by submitting the same request, but for the planting of 20 trees in the town of Stamboliyski this spring. Just a few days later, they receive a response from the municipality’s ecologist, who indicates specific locations in the town that are suitable for this purpose. They order 20 lime trees, plane trees, cedars, and red oaks, which they plant in about two hours. They ordered 20 lime trees, plane trees, cedars, and red oaks, which they planted in about two hours. For those who would say that it’s all a matter of personal connections, Nina Kirkova will refute them. “I didn’t know the municipality’s ecologist personally. It turned out that this woman took her job to heart and decided to turn the city into a green paradise. This spring alone, over 200 trees were planted in the city of about 11,000 inhabitants. It’s all a matter of will,” Nina believes.
“Our initiative in Varna is not intended to be confrontational, but rather an invitation to dialogue. We want to contribute to a cleaner and greener Varna,” say the organizers. The symbolic planting of the plane tree is also a reaction to the long-standing problems in the area related to poor infrastructure and waste collection, lack of street lighting, and designated areas for sports, playgrounds, and childcare facilities in Alen Mak.
“We hope to have the opportunity to work together again in the future! Thank you for your efforts and work,” Nina Kirkova from Alen Mak wrote to us a year and a half later.
We believe that there is no example more contagious than a personal one. That is why we thank you for your perseverance! People like you give meaning to everything we do.
