The school in Czarna already had a sports pitch, a playground, and a fence, and there were trees there too – but on Friday 10 April, year 7 decided there could be significantly more of them. In the course of one Friday morning, the pupils planted 225 trees – spruces, pines, oaks, maples, limes, and rowans – adding to what was already there and laying the foundation for what will one day become a truly green corner of the school grounds.
A Green Class – What Does That Actually Mean?
Year 7 at Primary School named after General Jan Henryk Dąbrowski in Czarna operates within the school as a so-called green class – one that treats ecology not as a topic to be covered in a nature lesson, but as an everyday practice. The pupils clean up the area around the school, look after the plants in their classrooms, and get involved in environmental initiatives. Planting trees was a natural next step for them – and at the same time something entirely new, because none of them had ever planted a tree before. That combination of readiness and novelty did its work: from the very first minutes, the action had an energy that simply cannot be planned.
225 Saplings, Seven Species, One Goal
The choice of species in actions like this is rarely accidental, and this time was no different. 80 common spruces and 80 Scots pines form the evergreen backbone of the new green strip – resilient, year-round species that quickly build structure. Then there are 15 pedunculate oaks: the oak is one of the most important species for biodiversity in Poland, living for hundreds of years and providing a home for over 500 species of insects. 15 small-leaved limes are a key species for pollinators – the lime tree blooms in July, when most other plants have already finished flowering, making it one of the few reliable sources of nectar at that time of year. 15 common maples, 10 common rowans – whose berries are a lifeline for many birds in winter – and 10 elder bushes complete a composition that will in time become a genuine ecosystem rather than merely a decoration for the school yard.
Why Trees at School Are More Than a Gesture
Urban and suburban green spaces are shrinking faster than we can restore them. Impermeable surfaces, a lack of vegetation, and rising temperatures mean that the local microclimate is no longer regulated by nature, but by air conditioning. And yet a single mature tree absorbs up to 22 kilograms of CO₂ per year, produces oxygen for several people, and lowers the temperature in its surroundings by several degrees. The trees planted along the fence and beside the sports pitch are not just an aesthetic addition – they represent a real change in the conditions in which pupils will spend their breaks for years to come, and one that this time they created themselves.
Where Does the Next Tree Go?
By the end of the action the pace had clearly slowed, but the pupils, tired as they were, kept looking for new spots where one more sapling might fit and none of them wanted to stop. That question – where does the next tree go – sums up the spirit of the whole action better than anything else. The school yard in Czarna changed in the course of one Friday morning, and the trees planted there will keep growing long after the children who planted them have finished school.
