A young tree of the green spruce species was planted today symbolically in the terrain of the clearing in the village. Gorna Traka in Varna. The tree was donated by ecologist and civil activist Teodora Stoyanova. The planting was carried out by two volunteers from the Public Center for Environment and Sustainable Development. The message of young people is: “Let’s give life, not destroy!”. The terrain has also become part of the photos for an ecological video dedicated to the destruction of forests for the production of paper shopping bags. 4 decares of black pine were cut down in the beginning of December in the Kodja Tepe area (Golyama Mogila) under Vinitsa. The forest was planted in the 1960s as a protective zone against landslides and erosion. In 2008, for unknown reasons, its status in the cadastre was changed to “logging”, and the General Development Plan of Varna places the forested terrain in an area for low development. On February 13 (Saturday) at 10 a.m., residents of the neighborhood are preparing a protest against the planned logging and the intentions to build 44 houses on the site of the trees.

Improving public knowledge about the role of Civil Society Organizations
The project “Improving public knowledge about the role of Civil Society Organizations” shall be implemented with the financial support of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway under the EEA Financial Mechanism. The main goal of the project is to improve citizens’ awareness of the role of non-governmental organizations in society. This material is established with the financial support of the Active Citizens Fund of Bulgaria under the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area. The whole responsibility for the content of the document is held by the Public Environmental Center for Sustainable Development and under no circumstances can this material be considered to reflect the official opinion of the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area and the Active Citizens Fund of Bulgaria.