Greening the industrial city of Lukavac

In May 2019, the idea to help an industrially plagued town in Bosnia started developing. The town of Lukavac is characterised by factories, some of which are located less than a kilometre away from the city centre: The cement factory 900 metres away, the soda factory 970 metres away and a coal factory three kilometres away. The quality of air and life in this area is very poor and endangers people’s health. Protest movements are forming in the city and people, young and old, are demonstrating to express their despair about the unacceptable living conditions.

To counteract the enormous pollution, the Daniel Schlegel Umweltstiftung, in cooperation with the local authorities and landscape architect Anela Tokić, has realised the large-scale planting of trees along three streets in Lukavac. The main aims are to improve the microclimate, cool the city, combat industrial air pollution, protect against fire and improve the aesthetics. Planting activities began on site at the beginning of April. The work took place over four days, within this timeframe 267 of the planned 503 seedlings were planted:

• 156 White poplars (Populus Alba)
• 110 Linden trees (Tilia Cordata)
• 1 East Asian cherry (Prunus Serrulata ‘Kanzan’)

The remaining 236 trees were delivered from neighbouring Serbia. However, due to the coronavirus situation, there was a delay in outstanding deliveries and the work on site had to be postponed. The final plantings were finally carried out in autumn 2020, including

• 17 Ash trees (Fraxinus excelsior ‘Globosa’)
• 60 Hanging birches (Betula pendula)
• 40 Columnar hornbeams (Carpinus betulus ‘Fastigiata)
• 4 Evergreen magnolias (Magnolia grandiflora ‘Gallisoniensis’)
• 115 Red shining medlars (Photinia serrulata ‘Red Robin’)

A total of 1149 supporting timbers were installed to give the trees more stability and protection. The trees greatly improve the quality of life in the city and clean the polluted air.

More urban trees for Lukavac

After the first project in April 2020 and the cooperation with the city and CEE Tuzla got off to such a good start, the decision was made to initiate a follow-up project in Lukavac straight away. Favourable locations for planting 145 additional trees were quickly identified on site. The procurement of the seedlings and the planting work took place in November 2020 despite the difficult conditions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Damaged plants were replaced and the existing urban greenery in public areas was supplemented with native and resistant species. Various species were planted in car parks, in front of public buildings and in various residential blocks:

Supportive timbers have been reinstalled to safeguard the trees, and the seedlings receive regular watering. As the trees mature, they will significantly contribute to the mitigation of industrial air pollution in the city centre. Even now, at an impressive height of approximately 2.5 meters, the trees are enhancing the cityscape, eliciting very positive feedback from local residents.