Kerkrade celebrates Tree Day

On Wednesday, March 11, Tree Day was celebrated in Rolduckerveld. Under the theme 'Enjoying life with trees', pupils from St. Ursula and De Blokkenberg primary schools set to work to make their neighborhood greener. Every year, the Provincial Tree Day Committee selects one municipality to organize the provincial celebration. This year, the municipality of Kerkrade was chosen.

Governor Emile Roemer was unable to attend, so Deputy Marc van Caldenberg took his place. Together with Alderman Geers, he gave the official starting signal. After a few words, they symbolically planted the first trees and hedges.

This year's Tree Day was dedicated to the Tuiny ZOO concept, a collaboration with GaiaZOO and IVN. This teaches children how they can make their own living environment more biodiverse and animal-friendly on a small scale. After the official ceremony, the pupils continued planting in groups.
Afterwards, the children were allowed to write their name and a wish on a wooden sign and hang it in the planted trees and hedges.

Alderman Geers (Public Space): "With this Tree Day, we are giving children the opportunity to actively contribute to a greener Kerkrade. It's wonderful to see how enthusiastically they get to work; their dedication and curiosity show that together we can really make a difference. Today, we are not only planting trees, but also pride and awareness for the future."

The chosen planting location will be set up as the first official Tuiny ZOO installation in a public space in the Netherlands. Tuiny ZOO is an educational project in which a section of a garden, balcony, or public space is decorated with green design elements to improve the living environment of animals in the city. This is linked to an educational program for elementary school students. In this way, nature is brought into the city. Read more about this at www.GaiaZOO.nl.