On May 4, another massive tree planting took place in the young university park located behind several academic buildings along Borshchahivska Street. Perhaps this is the last event when KPI students, teachers and staff planted so many plants here. And in the future, new saplings will only occasionally supplement the small unplanted areas that remain on this territory.
We remind you that the first such cleanup took place on October 21, 2021. The organizers called it "Plant Your Own Tree". On that day, the participants planted about 600 young oaks, silver and blue spruces, red maples, birches, hornbeams, etc. on the newly planned wasteland. "Kyiv Polytechnic, quoting the speeches of the participants of that action, wrote that the new park area should become a recreation area for students and staff, as well as, of course, for residents of nearby houses. And that it would protect those who study and work in nearby buildings from noise, absorb carbon dioxide emitted by cars passing by the university grounds, and, of course, decorate the KPI. The project was designed to last two years, so that the university could celebrate its 125th anniversary with a new park that would decorate the campus from the side opposite to the historical part of the KPI.
Subsequently, several more such events took place, and now the park is almost as conceived by the authors of the idea and project for its creation. The rector of the university, Mykhailo Zgurovsky, spoke about this before the work began: "We are almost at the finish line. Hundreds of different trees have already been planted here. Only a week ago we also planted beautiful sakura trees, which were presented to us by Boeing Ukraine... The park already has paths, lighting, and benches. Over the summer, we have to organize the lawn. Eventually, Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute will be surrounded by green areas on both sides..."
So, thanks to the efforts of caring polytechnicians of different ages and status, the territory that was rather abandoned two years ago is turning into another corner of wildlife on the chronicled Shuliavka. And quite a picturesque one at that.
"Today we have planted more than 50 trees. These are Schubert's bird cherry, common birch and maple. They have wonderful decorative foliage, the color of which will change throughout the season. In general, over the years, we have been selecting planting material that can withstand the load from the road and its exhaust gases. Everything is aesthetically pleasing and very harmonious," dendrologist and landscape designer Yulia Rashkovska told us about the future plans for the new park. "Another bright moment: a few days ago, sakura trees were planted here. These are trees that are colored. In the future, we want to plant 10 more of them and have an alley of 20 sakuras. In the fall, we plan to add another alley on the opposite side of the park." We would like to add that the cadets and teachers of the Institute of Defense Studies also planted 17 fir trees in the park that day.
The students responded to the call to participate in this action very eagerly. "I heard about this opportunity and joined in," explained Violetta Pastyrya, a student of the Institute of Management, "I really like that we are doing such a good thing, that the campus will be more beautiful and it will be pleasant to breathe here.
Of course, representatives of the student activists also took part in the campaign. "We actively support the landscaping of our territory and willingly supported the planting of new trees in this young park," said Yulia Maksymiuk, the president of the Student Parliament, a third-year student at the ER IATES, "so that it will be good for us and for students of future generations. Taya Maslenko, head of the project department of the KPI Student Council, who is studying at the FSP, said: "We were happy to join this campaign. We are pleased to make our campus more beautiful and green, especially since the trees will protect it from noise and make the air cleaner."
So far, everyone calls this park simply "new." But Kyiv parks traditionally have their own names. The old university park is known throughout Kyiv as "KPI Park" - it is also marked on maps of the Ukrainian capital. So the rector suggested that the polytechnics think about what name to give to the new park. The first suggestions were made by the participants of the cleanup before it started, but such things should be carefully thought out, because a name is like a name for a person - forever.
New additions to the new KPI park
Kyiv Polytechnics continue to equip a new park along Borshchahivska Street.
This time, students, teachers and staff of KPI planted about fifty saplings, including birch, bird cherry, maple and spruce.