There are days that leave behind something more than tiredness and soil under your fingernails. 15 May in Rybie was exactly that kind of day. At the Świetlik community centre, together with Microsoft volunteers and their families, children from a nearby nursery, and participants of the centre’s activities, we set up a community garden. And in truth, we did something more: we showed that a bond with nature is built with your own hands.
A Project That Connects
Connected by Nature is a project by One More Tree Foundation carried out in cooperation with Microsoft. Its aim is to restore nature where it is needed most – in the local communities of the Raszyn municipality, which are increasingly feeling the effects of climate change, air pollution, and biodiversity loss.
The name says it all: it is about connection. People with nature. Adults with children. Business with the local community. Knowledge with practical action. This is not a project about planting trees for the statistics – it is a project about the fact that everyone, regardless of age or ability, can make a real difference in their immediate surroundings and build a sense of responsibility for shared space.
The event in Rybie was the first chapter of this project. And it would have been hard to imagine a better start.
The activities carried out under Connected by Nature are another Microsoft initiative supporting local communities wherever the company invests in the development of cloud and AI infrastructure.
The Day the Garden Became Everyone’s
20 Microsoft volunteers arrived on site, and they were joined in planting the bulbs by little ones from a nearby nursery – around 20 children who, with the earnestness and solemnity that only small children can muster, buried lilies, ornamental garlics, and irises in the soil. In total, 2,500 bulbs went into the ground!
The volunteers also planted 78 ornamental shrubs and trees, including magnolias, Japanese azaleas, spireas, weigelas, flowering currants, and cinquefoils. Four themed beds were created: a Mediterranean bed, a kitchen bed, and two vegetable beds.
Each bed was carefully planned. The Mediterranean bed is scented with thyme, lavender, sage, oregano, and rosemary. The kitchen bed tempts with mint, basil, parsley, chives, and lemon balm – everything we usually reach for in the kitchen, and which can be grown right outside the door. The two vegetable beds are home to cherry tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and lettuce. These are spaces that will serve the residents every day – as a place for learning, integration, play, and spending time together.
The Afternoon Belonged to the Children
At 4:30 p.m. the event took on a new dimension. Children who regularly attend activities at the Świetlik centre came to take part in insect hotel building workshops. 16 participants, 9 finished hotels – and plenty of questions about who would be moving in and why insects need a home at all.
Those questions are the most important ones. Because ecological education is not about reciting facts about biodiversity – it is about a child picking up a piece of wood, hammering in a nail, and feeling that they have done something for the world. That they are part of it.
Values That Last
It is easy to say that the event was a success. It is harder to describe everything that happened between planting the flowers and working together at the beds.
Closeness to nature. In a world where we spend more and more time in front of screens, direct contact with soil and nature becomes something extraordinarily precious. That day, participants – both adults and children – were able to feel that nature is not something distant. It is right beside us, and it needs our care.
Community. A community garden is more than a shared space. It is a place of meetings, conversations, and building relationships. The residents of Rybie have gained a space that will live and grow alongside them. The volunteers, meanwhile, were able to see the real effect of their work and feel that their actions matter to a specific community.
Integration through action. Integration does not have to take place in a conference room or a restaurant. That day it was rooted in shared work, conversation, laughter, and cooperation. Such experiences stay with us for a long time, because they are authentic and build relationships in a natural way.
Education through experience. The children who planted bulbs and built insect hotels may not remember all the ecological terms. But they will remember the emotions, the sense of agency, and the feeling that they can do something good for the world. And that is exactly the kind of education that stays with us the longest.
This Is Only the Beginning
The garden at the Świetlik community centre in Rybie will grow alongside the local community. The trees will put down roots, the beds will bear produce, and the insect hotels will find their first residents.
We will return there too, because Connected by Nature is not a one-off event, but a long-term project that will continue through further activities in the Raszyn municipality and the surrounding area. We want to show that change does not always begin with grand gestures. Sometimes all it takes is a trowel, a handful of bulbs, and the desire to leave something good behind.
We thank the Microsoft volunteers, the children from the Świetlik centre, and the nursery children for a wonderful shared day and their tremendous commitment.
The Connected by Nature project is carried out by One More Tree Foundation in cooperation with Microsoft in the Raszyn municipality near Warsaw.
