In the course of the last four years, the number of trees in Prague has increased by 555,000. The jubilee five hundred and fifty-five thousandth one was jointly planted in Stromovka by the Mayor of Prague, Pavel Bém, and the representatives of twelve partner cities.
Prague is full of greenery
“When the last tree is cut down, the last river poisoned and the last fish caught, we will finally realize that we can’t eat money”: Mayor Pavel Bém cited the Indian saying whilst opening the Earth Day celebration. “You may not know that there are 89 protected areas and 12 natural parks in Prague, which occupy 20 percent of the total city area,” Bém pointed out .
Forests in the city
It may not be obvious at first sight, but Prague has quite a lot of forestry – with 2, 600 ha in total, covering an additional 10 percent of the city area. It goes without saying that we have to take care of our forests and parks. Stromovka, which was terribly damaged in 2002 by floods, needs special care - about three thousand of its trees have died and some of them are still dying. This is why this place has been chosen to plant the jubilee tree as well the trees of the partner cities.
Each city has its own tree
Each of the twelve partner cities (Prague has 26 altogether) has its own tree in Stromovka. Berlin planted an oak, Shanghai has a decorative sumac, and the Mayor of Prague planted the Czech national lime tree, while Jerusalem is represented by the red maple that was planted by the Israeli ambassador Yaacov Levy. Students from Prague grammar schools also helped, using the occasion to practice their English. “We are planting the trees for our kids and their offspring,” said Deputy Mayor, Marie Kousalíková.
