The Children’s Forest Association in Romania has launched the “Community Nursery” – a project that empowers high school students from Ploiesti and Urziceni to revive their cities by running community tree nurseries whose fruits inspire people and green their lives.
The two tree nurseries will be set up in the Ploiești West Municipal Park and in the courtyard of the Urziceni Technological High School, each on an area of about 1000 square metres.
“We want these community nurseries to provide young people with the necessary resources to run a nursery, along with the tools and opportunities for inclusive engagement and collaboration in two cities in the south of the country that are facing environmental problems and extreme weather events (…).” said Dr. Teodora-Alexandra Pălărie, President of the Children’s Forest Association.
Milestones in the implementation of the project
Students, teachers and parents will go through a formative and participatory path that starts in the classroom and continues in the field – by actually working in the two nurseries and field study visits to the urban forests established by Children’s Forest in the two cities, as well as to one of the largest nurseries in South-East Romania, the Simileasca Forest Nursery, managed by the Buzău Forestry Range.
The most involved high school students will continue their educational journey in the Participatory Greening Committee (PGC) training workshops set up in the project, at the end of which the youth will become connectors and community leaders in addressing the greening needs of their cities.
The project closes the circle of training and community involvement with two planting events in Ploiesti and Urziceni organized the PGCs together with citizens.
“Community Nursery” is one of the 20 winning projects within Raiffeisen Communities, the NGO accelerator in sustainability, a Raiffeisen Bank Romania initiative carried out with the support of the Association for Community Relations.
The evolution of the project can be followed on Children’s Forest website, as well as on its Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn social media channels.
