Spring is the time when the earth itself calls for new life. We decided to answer — shovel in hand, seedling ready to be pressed into the soil. On 14 April in Potarzyca, on the grounds of the Primary School at ul. Wyzwolenia 65, we planted 200 trees together. Not somewhere in a distant forest, not on some shapeless wasteland — but here, where children walk every day. Where in a few years there will be shade, the rustling of leaves, and a piece of nature that the students will be able to call their own.
Because that is exactly what these actions are about. So that a tree is not an abstraction, a line in a report, or a statistic on a poster. So that it is something you plant with your own hands, next to someone you know — and that then grows alongside you.
200 Seedlings, One School Yard
Across 350 square metres of school grounds, 150 small-leaved linden trees and 50 common hornbeams found their new home. This was no coincidental choice. The small-leaved linden is one of the most beautiful and important trees in Poland — in summer it blooms with such intensity that it is impossible to ignore, and its flowers are invaluable to pollinating insects. The common hornbeam, in turn, is a tough, resilient and long-lived tree — ideal as a green element in places meant to serve successive generations of students.
The planting covered an area of 350 m², which gives each seedling the space it needs to truly flourish. This is not planting for show — it is planting with the intention that the trees will survive and grow for decades to come.
Volunteers from Paula Ingredients – Commitment in Action
Employees of Paula Ingredients arrived on site and, from 10:00 a.m., got to work side by side with students from two classes. Corporate volunteering makes sense when people show up with genuine enthusiasm — and that is exactly what happened in Potarzyca. Part of the team grabbed shovels and planted alongside the children; another part documented the entire event, making sure this special day would live on not only in the memories of those present, but also in photographs.
Corporate volunteering is about more than planting trees. It is about stepping out of the office and into the world, connecting with nature, and — perhaps above all — meeting people outside one’s everyday routine. Students who watch such an event with eyes full of curiosity. A tree that in a decade or two will give shade to someone who has not yet started school today.
Students as Hosts
Two classes of students from the Primary School in Potarzyca did not sit at their desks that day. They were outside, hands in the soil, planting trees on their own school grounds. It is an experience that stays with you — not as an abstract lesson about climate, but as a concrete moment: I was here, I planted this tree, it grows here.
Environmental education works best when it is not just theory. When a child knows that the linden growing by the school fence is there because they planted it — they develop a completely different relationship with nature. And that is something no textbook can replace.
Why Does It Matter?
Every tree planted is an investment whose effects we will see in years, decades, or even half a century from now. The small-leaved linden at the school in Potarzyca will support local pollinating insects, improve air quality around the playground, and provide natural shade on hot days — and Polish summers are becoming increasingly hot and demanding for children who spend time outdoors.
Trees are natural air filters, temperature regulators, and shelter for birds and insects. The common hornbeam, which may appear modest at first glance, can survive for several centuries — and throughout that entire time it plays its role in the ecosystem. By planting it today on school grounds, we give it the chance to serve this community long after the current students finish school, start families, and bring their own children here.
It is also worth remembering that plantings in school spaces carry an additional dimension: they remind students every day that nature is something close at hand, and that caring for it begins literally at the doorstep. That you do not need to travel to a forest to be in nature — you just need to step outside into the school yard.
Thank You!
Heartfelt thanks to the volunteers from Paula Ingredients for their presence, commitment, and willingness to act together. Your energy made this day special – for the students and for the trees that have just begun their lives in Potarzyca.
We also thank the Primary School in Potarzyca for making the grounds available and for inviting the students to take part in the event. It is precisely these kinds of places – schools that step beyond their walls and teach through action – that ensure a relationship with nature begins truly early.
See you at the next event! 🌱
