On a sunny Sunday morning in Karoliniškės, in Sietyno Street, several hundred Vilnius residents - families with children, teenagers, and elderly people - gathered near the football arena. All together, in two hours, they greened the children's playground, the entrances of the "Medynėlis" kindergarten, and part of Sietynos Street.
"The quality of life is changing not only in the central part of the city, but also in the districts further away from the center. After the bushes planted by us become green, this place will definitely become cozier, safer and more suitable for children to play", said the mayor of the city of Vilnius, who took part in the planting ceremony with his whole family. Valdas Benkunskas.
"We had to come to this taluk. Our daughter attends the kindergarten here, we pass by this place every day. Now we will remember that we planted bushes here", said Vilius from Vilnius after taking a breather after planting.
Both Vilnius residents living nearby and those who came from other districts of the city participated in the taluka. "We try to raise civic-minded, responsible children who love their city. And at the same time, it's a good opportunity to gather hours of social-civic activity", - thinks the pedagogue of the Vilnius Žygimantas Augusta pro-gymnasium, who came to the taluk with a large group of students.
Turk Aaron from Istanbul was surprised by such an event and was happy to plant bushes. "I haven't heard of joint plantings in Istanbul. And here, after learning about such an event, I definitely wanted to participate. And my daughter is so interested in planting bushes," Aaron said while participating in the bush planting project together with his family.
More than 3000 different types of bushes have been planted on Sietynos Street: jasmines, glistening stonecrops, witch hazels, forsythias, birch-leaved flexibles, thistles, chokeberries, as well as giltwoods.
About 50 trees will be planted around the site and near the street, which will shade the children's playground, provide coziness, and separate the space from the street. These works will be performed by experienced city landscapers, the company "Stebulė".
"Until now, it was such a wasteland - an open field. After planting trees and bushes, this place will become cozier, greener, and even safer - the green massifs will not allow the little ones to run out into the street so easily," said Vaiva Marozienė, landscape specialist of "Vilnius City Parks".
The arrays of greenery will create a green connection that, according to the vision of the gardeners, should appear throughout the city. Small animals breed and migrate in them. Planting multi-species plants in the city supports biodiversity. The flowering and berry-bearing plants will also appeal to urban birds, bees, and insects.
