Earth Day is the largest international environmental holiday. It was established more than 50 years ago to raise awareness of the importance of protecting the environment. On this occasion, we remind you what you can do for the Earth and how you can take care of our planet!
The holiday was established in 1970 and is currently celebrated in 192 countries. In Poland, Earth Day has been celebrated since 1990.
Earth Day is a great opportunity to organise various events promoting ecology, including tree-planting campaigns. It is also an opportunity to improve awareness of the effects of environmental destruction. Important recipients of the action are children and young people, on whom the future of our planet depends.
How do we celebrate Earth Day?
- Plant a tree – We can even do it in our garden. Also look for information at your local forestry district, where you can plant a forest together with your local community as part of the “Trees Connect Us” campaign.
- Let’s collect wastepaper – We certainly have plenty of it at home – old newspapers, papers, cardboard boxes, or leaflets. Collect wastepaper and recycle it at a recycling centre or exchange it at the forestry office for a seedling.
- Pick up litter – Go to the forest or a river.
- Segregate your rubbish daily, save water, gas and electricity and dispose of used batteries in special containers and bins.
How about celebrating Earth Day every day?
Find out what you can do to help our planet:
- Plant trees around you,
- Create a pollinator-friendly flower meadow in your garden,
- Set up an insect hotel,
- Stop mowing your lawn,
- Collect rainwater for watering your garden,
- If possible, give up the car in favour of public transport, cycling or, preferably, walking,
- Try to repair things rather than replacing them with new ones,
- Remember to segregate your rubbish,
- When shopping, use reusable bags, choose products with eco-friendly packaging,
- Save electricity, water, and heat in your home,
- Use wood responsibly and use the raw material for as long as possible, necessarily sourced sustainably.
Polish State Forests celebrate Earth Day by planting millions of seeds to keep forests healthy
The State Forests, as every year, also join in the Earth Day celebrations. Many of their activities have a direct impact on limiting the effects of climate change in Poland – whether in terms of adapting stands, retaining water in the forest or fire protection. A changing climate affects all components of a forest and the State Forests are meeting natural, social and production expectations in the light of these changes.
As a result of the work carried out within the framework of sustainable forest management, the forest area has increased from 21 per cent to 30 per cent since 1945. Seedlings, used for forest renewal, are produced in nurseries run by the forest districts. About 800 million are grown there each year in 427 nurseries located in 347 forest districts. As much as 500 million of this pool is planted on land managed by the State Forests, while the rest is allocated to private forest owners or national parks.
Species composition has changed as the environment changes
Importantly, the species composition of the stands is also changed, i.e., they are rebuilt according to the habitat. Forward-thinking foresters consider scientists’ forecasts of the changes that will take place in the environment over the next few decades.
Forests have an increasingly diverse age and species structure. According to the Central Statistical Office (GUS), there are approximately 32 per cent of deciduous trees in Polish forests today. In 1945, there were only 13 per cent, while coniferous species accounted for 87 per cent. The share of seedlings at present is almost equal between coniferous and deciduous species. The share of pine has been declining since the 1950s in favour of the growth of oak, among others.
