The European Union Delegation through the Natura 2000 project has funded a big campaign in Fruška Gora National Park to plant 13000 seedlings of sessile oak forest (Quercus petraea) with the help of more than 400 nature lovers’ volunteers.

The action, on 23rd November, was lead by the EXIT Foundation and the Delegation of the European Union as part of the EU Natura2000 project as an initiative started at this year’s EXIT Festival “Give back to nature, join and plant a tree”.

“Someone said planting a tree means planting hope, and today we start planting 13,000 hopes to sustain nature and help it fight climate change. Our planet is sick, worse than temperature, and we have to do something about it lower the temperature and let it heal, “said Ambassador Sem Fabrizi, Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia. Ambassador Fabrizi added that for many years the European Union and Serbia have been collaborating on various environmental projects to improve the quality of soil, water, air and today we are on a new mission.

More than 400 people participated in the creation of the new lungs of Serbia, including volunteers from the EXIT team, the EU Delegation to Serbia and member states, with the presence of the Ministry of the Environment, and the support of the Fruška Gora National Park and with the assistance of the Faculty of Forestry, University of Belgrade and Movements of the Vojvodina Mountains.

In Serbia, on average, each person generates a carbon footprint, that is, a greenhouse gas emission, of an average of 8.7 tonnes of carbon dioxide, which is a major cause of climate change. The new 13,000 oak trees in Fruška Gora National Park will absorb over 300 tonnes of carbon dioxide in the next ten years, which will significantly reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Environment Minister Goran Trivan considers that afforestation is the simplest and most effective way of combating climate change. He also praised and supported the initiative to plant the first million seedlings throughout Serbia in the coming period, adding: „I congratulate this initiative because planting 13,000 trees means the beginning of planting one million seedlings, which is a mission.“