{"id":6356,"date":"2022-06-22T13:53:25","date_gmt":"2022-06-22T11:53:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/?p=6356"},"modified":"2022-06-22T13:53:25","modified_gmt":"2022-06-22T11:53:25","slug":"the-green-heart-of-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/6356\/the-green-heart-of-europe\/","title":{"rendered":"The Green Heart of Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"
With more than 60 per cent of its surface covered in forests<\/span><\/a>, Slovenia is the third most densely forested country in Europe, next after Sweden and Finland. The capital Ljubljana recently won the title as Tree City of the World for the 3rd time in a row.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\n The Green Capital<\/strong><\/p>\n Among 138<\/a><\/span> other sustainable cities Ljubljana was named as a Tree City of the World 2021. Ljubljana has already received the recognition of being among the Tree Cities of the World program three times<\/span><\/a> in the years of 2019, 2020 and now again in 2021.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The change can be seen in how the Municipality has switched focus<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>from cars to public transport and pedestrian or cycling networks. More green areas have been protected and more trees have been planted. Every year, the Ljubljana Municipality plants 300 to 600 trees<\/span><\/a> in public green areas.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI think we won this for sure, if we fulfil the criteria. We are not making any injustice here. Ljubljana is a green city and has lots of trees. But I also believe that there are cities that are way more green than Ljubljana, and I think the Municipality should do more to promote this title. Create awareness that trees are important as something else than timber. Forrest is not just a source of material but also important for the wellbeing of all of us. For the animals, for the climate for the water regime, and also on an individual level,\u201d explains Bla\u017e Repe, a geographer, working in the field of soils, vegetation and the vice head of the geography department at University of Ljubljana.<\/span><\/p>\n[aesop_gallery id=”6432″ revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”]\n\n Benefits of recognition<\/strong><\/p>\n Alja Bebar works in the Municipality’s office for Public Relations and explains how such notable awards are proving the capital to be one of the leading destinations in the field of sustainable tourism:<\/p>\n \u201cWhole delegations of mayors, environmental advisers, town planners, journalists and visitors from all over the world visit Ljubljana to understand the green miracle of this unique capital in Europe. We are proud to once again receive the recognition for our activities and measures with which we are ensuring that the European Green Capital 2016 is literally green.\u201d<\/p>\n By raising environmental awareness and making a sustainable strategy called \u2018Vision 2025<\/span><\/a>\u2019, Ljubljana was announced the winner of the European Green Capital Award 2016. The title had seeded goods and positive effects in addition to Ljubljanas economy, boost in tourism, retail and in the leisure sector<\/span><\/a> back then. The green status has only continued and accelerated from there.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Slovenian capital Ljubljana was named the Green Capital of Europe 2016 at a ceremony in Copenhagen.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n Raise awareness among residents<\/strong><\/p>\n Even though the Tree City title provides direction, assistance, and worldwide recognition<\/span><\/a> for Ljubljana\u2019s dedication to its urban forest, it does not reach the individual Slovenian citizen. The Municipality has a great opportunity to educate people living in the city about the value of trees and to help residents feel good about the place they live and work. For this reason, l<\/span>ocal organisations and public fundings blossom within the city.<\/p>\n Several initiatives have been made to create awareness about planting trees and focus on the green city of Ljubljana. One of many projects is called \u201cTree on a Bike\u201d<\/span><\/a> developed by \u2018Youth for Climate Justice\u2019 and founded by Slovenian environmental public fund, Spatial Network and others. The initiative is addressing the problem of unsustainable transport and the heat load in Ljubljana. \u2018Youth for Climate Justice\u2019 wants to encourage local and state authorities to focus on restructuring cities more efficient and with affordable sustainable mobility. The project<\/span><\/a> centers around a bike, which has a tree on the bicycle shed. Residents in Ljubljana can then choose a location for the tree to be planted by biking around the city. The collected locations are tracked by a GPS and will be handed over to decision makers of the city of Ljubljana.<\/p>\n\n Rooted residents<\/strong><\/p>\n At a train station close to Ljubljana, I meet Ne\u017eka Piko. She is 22 years old and studies design of materials with a special interest in wood. She feels a strong connection to trees which can be traced back to her home city \u010crna na Koro\u0161kem<\/span><\/a>, which is home for the oldest lime tree in Slovenia.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt makes sense that Ljubljana has been named a Tree City. Compared to a lot of other cities in Europe, it is very green. Wood is very important to Slovenians. More than half of our country is forest.\u201d<\/p>\n