Tomorrow’s Forest Foundation continued its afforestation and reforestation actions in the autumn of 2024. In November and December, over 250 volunteers helped plant 32,000 seedlings on 9.4 ha in several counties of Romania (Dâmbovița, Iași, Giurgiu, Alba and Buzău).
The tiny school forests project has reached the Hermann Oberth German School
At the Hermann Oberth German School in Voluntari, the Foundation planted a new Miyawaki-type mini-forest, with the enthusiastic help of the students.
The method of Japanese botanist and activist Akira Miyawaki involves planting native species at a much higher density than in forest plantations, on land prepared with special techniques. If all the steps are followed closely, the growth of the seedlings is greatly accelerated, establishing the canopy state in just a few years. The result is a forest-type ecosystem with a much richer biodiversity, capable of producing 30 times more oxygen than a park or garden of the same area.
On an area of around 100 sqm, 316 seedlings of 19 different species of trees and shrubs were planted, so that the small space will become a living laboratory, ideal for lessons about nature and the environment.
“Through this project, we wanted to bring the forest as close as possible to the students,” says Mihail Caradaică, the Foundation’s executive director. “These mini-forests are an exemplary teaching tool. Students can see how the forest grows and can help take care of it, they can learn about the tree species in Romania, they can monitor the biodiversity associated with a forest ecosystem. In addition, obviously, the mini-forests also bring benefits related to combating pollution – in particular, they purify the air and attenuate noise pollution in the urban environment.”
This is the third Miyawaki mini-forest planted by the Foundation in 2024, after those at General School no. 150 from the Cotroceni neighborhood and from the Țara Bârsei Technical College in Prejmer, Brașov County.
More than 9 ha of forest planted in the autumn of 2024
The Forests 4 Climate afforestation and reforestation program continued as well, with planting actions organized in several counties of the country with the help of over 250 volunteers.
The following were planted:
- Ceplenița (Iași County): 1.7 ha, with 7,000 seedlings
- Brezoaele (Dâmbovița County): a 1.6 hectare forest-park, with 382 trees and seedlings
- Gherăseni (Buzău County): another 2 ha of land, 13,500 seedlings were planted (it is the third planting site in the commune, where the areas so far total 7 ha).
- Toporu (Giurgiu County): 1 ha, 3,000 saplings
- Șpring (Alba County): 2 ha inside the forest, 8,000 seedlings, in vicinity of the 2 ha planted this spring.
“The event in Toporu, Giurgiu County, is very special for us, because it was supported almost entirely by donations and income tax redirections,” says Mihail Caradaică. “We have a hectare of forest funded by donors and planted by volunteers in one of the areas of Romania most affected by climate change – we cannot emphasize the importance of this event enough: it shows us that together we can do great things.”
Help us plant even more in 2025: contribute a small donation on the website.
Through its programmes, the Foundation has so far planted over 1.2 million seedlings on approximately 300 ha of land in Romania.
The Pădurea de Mâine Foundation thanks to all those involved in these reforestation projects: the companies Brink’s Cash Solutions, HS Timber Group and Zeelandia Romania, who financially supported the planting actions in the fall of 2024, the local authorities and communities in which we planted, the partners who provide planting material and forest solutions (HortiNova, Mountain Garden and Silvamont SRL) and, first of all, the volunteers and donors who support us every day.
See more images from the plantings on our Facebook page.
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