On Saturday, as many as 350 volunteers joined scouts and foresters in afforestation of the fire area on Šubićevac in Šibenik in a new campaign of the "Boranka" project, announced on Sunday from the Association of Scouts of Croatia, which together with Croatian Forests are leading the campaign of afforestation of fire areas in Dalmatia.
The action, which was organized for the first time in Šubićevac, was largely attended by high school students from Šibenik and Split, employees of partner companies, and other citizens.
They worked together diligently to plant deciduous and coniferous trees, following the instructions of scouts and foresters. A mixed stand was planted, exclusively of indigenous, domestic species, mostly holm oak (chesmina), black ash, cypress and coastal cypress.
The action was attended by students and teachers from the Antun Vrančić High School in Šibenik, the IV. Marko Marulić High School in Split, the Archdiocesan Classical High School and the Construction and Geodesy Technical School in Split. More than a hundred high school students successfully planted several hundred seedlings. The action was also joined by 140 employees of Raiffeisen Bank, the main sponsor of "Boranka", who have been participating in afforestation actions for the seventh year. Many Šibenik residents responded to the call, from parents with children to those a little older.
The action was also supported by the City of Šibenik, the Public Fire Department and the Šibenik City Red Cross Society, and the Public Institution for the Management of Protected Areas of the Šibenik-Knin County "Priroda", who joined the action with their employees.
The large forest fire, which destroyed several hectares of park forest in Šubićevac, a favorite Šibenik picnic spot, in just a few minutes last summer, was only stopped in front of the houses of Šibenik residents by the quick intervention of firefighters, but it left behind a black charred area and thousands of burnt trees. After the fire was repaired by workers from the Croatian Forests, it was time, according to "Boranka", to restore Šubićevac and plant a new forest in order to prevent soil erosion and restore this "lung" of Šibenik. Thus, on October 4, the first of three planned large volunteer afforestation campaigns in Šubićevac was organized, and it was also the 47th "Boranka".
"Boranka" was held for the eighth year in a row, and so far it has gathered more than 13.000 volunteers from all over Croatia and abroad. Scouts and other volunteers have so far planted more than 130.000 new trees in seedlings, seeds and acorns at the fire sites in the vicinity of Split, Solin, Makarska, Trogir, Zadar and Šibenik. According to the organizers, this made it the largest European volunteer reforestation of fire areas.
Photo: HINA/ Croatian Scout Association/ Patrik Pukko
