Scouts, soldiers and citizens planted 30.000 black pine seedlings in the burned area of Mount Vojnik.
It is about the afforestation action of the Union of Scouts called "Boranka".
Secretary General of the Union of Scouts Borislav Jovovich he told "Vijesti" that this is the first area affected by the fire where the action has been completed and that new locations and cities are planned for next year.
"Boranka" started seven years ago in Croatia, after the big fires in Dalmatia. Scouts decided to help the environment and this is how this project was born.
The concept of "Boranka" includes two parts - educational workshops for young people and volunteer reforestation of burned territories.
Two years ago, North Macedonia had "Borenka", and since January this year, "Borenka" has come to Montenegro, with the support of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia and the Croatian Association of Scouts.
At the beginning, the Union of Scouts of Montenegro was looking for a partner at the state level and they found it in the Directorate for Forest and Hunting Management, which advises them and agrees on the best locations for afforestation.
"They have all the planning documents that are followed with the planting plans, in which it is written which species are planted where. "We have made an agreement to map some locations for this year, and we have cooperated locally with the Agency for the Management of Protected Areas in Podgorica," said Jovović.
In Podogrica, Gorica is recognized as one of the locations that should be reforested. However, as Jovović said, that plan was changed due to a large fire in July at the exact location that was intended for it.
After that, they received information that nothing should be done in that part this year, but to wait for nature to restore itself and for a planting plan for Gorica to be adopted at the level of the Capital City.
Then they focused on Mount Vojnik near Nikšić because it was also affected by large fires a few years ago. Another reason why they chose Vojnik is that the main water source for the people of Nikšić, Vidrovan, is located at its foot.
"Every year it loses its capacity more and more. During the summer, there were restrictions in Nikšić for this very reason, and one of the factors is precisely the lack of forest because it retains moisture with its roots in the months when there is more snow and rain, and later in the summer months those sources do not dry up precisely because of this system roots", said Jovović.
According to him, that water source is threatened, and one of the ways to preserve it is to create a new forest.
There were a total of five actions on Vojnik, and 30.000 black pine seedlings were planted on two plots.
750 volunteers who came from Nikšić, Pogorica, Cetinje and Bar participated in these actions. These were scouts, employees of companies that supported them, soldiers and citizens who wanted to contribute.
They were also supported in the action by the EU Delegation in Montenegro, the Ministry of Defense, the Army of Montenegro and some private companies.
"We started 'Boranka' in May with a large-scale cleaning operation in Gorica, where we cleaned the part of the plateau below the field that burned a few years ago. 15 large trucks of burned waste were taken from Gorica and the field was being prepared for autumn planting. Parallel to that, we had a dozen educational workshops in primary and secondary schools in Podgorica and Nikšić, where we talked with our youngest about forests and the importance of planting in Montenegro", said Jovović.
They also distributed "Borilice", boxes containing a charcoal pencil and paper on which children could draw a tree, take a picture of it with their phone and plant it in a virtual forest on the boranka.me website, after which someone actually plants it.
According to Jovović, they are satisfied with how the first campaign went and are looking forward to planning and implementing new ones. Their long-term plan is for these stories to last seven or eight years because, as he said, only in that way can the results be seen.
"Boranka" will focus on the areas affected by the fire, he emphasized, and in the months during which there are no planting actions, they will devote themselves to working with the youngest, in cooperation with schools.
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