Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute is designing and creating a new park. It will run along Borshchahivska Street from campus building #28 to campus building #18. On October 21, 2021, an event on planting the first trees in the park took place.
Whether it was a fun and coordinated work in the fresh air or a bright sunny day, the participants were so impressed that their faces shone with a smile. On the other hand, they probably were proud to realize that they were putting in into the history of the University. Parks will exist for many years. Not only creators but also their descendants will enjoy communication with nature in parks. Rector of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute Michael Zgurovsky also supported the idea. He also added that that park wouldn’t only adorn the University but also improve its environment: “We are planting a new park. This way, we continue our tradition because in 1900-1901, our predecessors - students and teachers of the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute of Emperor Alexander II - planted a park along the Brest-Litovsky Highway then. Now it is time to design the cityscapes on Peremohy Avenue. That park has been available to people for 120 years. We want the new park area to become a recreation area. Most of all, for students and staff of our eight faculties and institutes located along Borshchahivska Street and also for residents of nearby houses. In addition, this park area will protect those who study and work in these buildings from noise, absorb carbon dioxide emitted by cars. It will also be the pride of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute.” He added that the project would take about two years. Still, on the eve of the 125th anniversary of the University in August 2023, the new park area should look as in the design.
The Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute Alumni Association refused to be indifferent to the University initiative. They agreed to develop a new park area. Its Vice President, Serhii Manziuk, said: "The Alumni Association, together with its President, Dmitro Andriievskyi, also joined in its creation. Once we learned about this idea, the Association supported it and donated many trees to the University. We will help to build up this park area.”
Students, teachers, and staff of eight faculties and institutes came to take part in the action called “Plant your own tree”: the Institute of Aerospace Technologies, the Faculty of Informatics and Computer Science, the Faculty of Chemical Technology, the Faculty of Chemical Engineering, the Faculty Sociology and Law, the Faculty of Electric Power Engineering and Automatics, E.O. Paton Institute of Materials Science and Welding, and the Faculty of Instrumentation Engineering. Of course, the dean faculties and institute directors headed these teams. Student self-government bodies, trade unions, other public organizations, and structural subdivisions, such as the dean, staff, and students of the Faculty of Heat and Power Engineering, also took part in the tree planting. The project got together many diverse people - different in status, professional preferences, and even age. Some of the participants even came with their families. Probably the youngest planter was a granddaughter of one of the faculty deans, ten-year-old Polina Mukhina. “I came here today because it is a big holiday,” she said. “This event is very important to me. I am glad that today I can contribute to creating this park. I feel curious about this University. I want to plant a tree here to always remember that I did something for this park. I am seeding a tree here so that when I study here, I will come to this park and remember this solemn holiday.”
The district authorities attended the event as well because the occasion was extraordinary. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to join this project, which unites us around such a significant environmental issue,” said Iryna Chechotka, Head of the Solomianskyi District Kyiv City State Administration, after planting her tree. “And, of course, I am twice as pleased to work together with conscious youth and contribute to creating a new park area. The park will not only become the ornament for the University but will also delight the Solomianskyi District. I also hope that this lawn will become not only a place of rest but also a place for new creative ideas.”
Vice-Rector for Administrative Affairs Vadym Kondratiuk told in detail what the park would look like and its following stages of creation. "This is just the beginning of the park. Today about 600 seedlings of different tree species have been planted here. These are oak, silver spruce, blue spruce, red maple, birch, hornbeam, western thuja. In the second stage in the spring, we want to plant about 500 more trees. Then, we will equip recreation areas, sidewalks, lighting systems, areas for various technical innovations of students, etc. According to the project, we will complete the park location by 2023. It will be a wonderful recreation area for students and staff of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, Kyiv residents and guests of our city,” - he informed. “The new design envisages a complete reconstruction of the territory along the high-speed tram line on Borshchahivska Street. That is to say, the park is built up not only on the University campus and covers an area of approximately 3 hectares (behind campus buildings №9 and 28 – the KP note), but also from the campus buildings #28 to #18. This way, we will realize the idea of our University inside a large green space. The first green area runs along Peremohy Avenue, and the second one will be here. The future park area will be 6 hectares.”
As already mentioned, University students welcomed the initiative. Many of them came to plant their trees with youthful zeal. “I came here today to help the faculty with the landscape the lawn and plant a tree,” said Mykola Pravilov, a master's student at the Faculty of Chemical Engineering. “I think we are doing the right thing. After I finish university, I will remember this day driving past the park with my kids. That is, today, we are planting the park not only for us but also for our children and descendants. In a few years, students will spend their leisure time here… "
This is the truth. The park belongs not only to us, but it will be also for the next generations. How can we not mention our wise classic Maksym Rylskyi, who in his "Vechirni Rozmovy" ("Evening Conversations") mentioned Todos? The old man once planted oaks near his mud and got sharp remarks from one of the villagers that he wouldn’t even see how these oaks grew up. Then, Todos replied, “… only fools plant trees to personally see how they are growing.” There is no doubt that those students and staff of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute who planted trees along Borshchahivska Street on October 21, 2021, will witness the fruits of their dedication. It will soon happen - in a year or two. People living after us will also admire them. The park belongs to both contemporaries and descendants.
