Caring for trees

Trees play very important role in the city. They enliven the town with a play of light and shade, their appearance gives value to public space, and they have positive effects on the human psyche. Trees improve the town’s climate by filtering dust, cooling the air and producing oxygen. Lviv’s leafy streets and parks, some with impressive stocks of trees, have a great potential which should not be ignored, and a suitable tree management policy should be developed.

Sometimes problems can arise. Trees are planted too close together or the type of tree chosen for planting is unsuitable for the city. Unprofessional pruning results in severely damages trees, and affects not only the appearance of the street, but the safety of traffic and pedestrians, and the costs to the city for the aftercare of badly pruned trees are often prohibitively high.

Since 2012 the Project has been conducting regular seminars for officers of the local district and parks administration and the staff of relevant park directorates. The seminar covers theory of tree biology, care for young trees, international policies and regulations, practice in tree professional pruning, tree inspection and risk assessment. These issues are basic to the implementation of a sustainable tree management system which would enable the local administration to manage their tree stocks efficiently and ensure their long-term maintenance and protection.

Besides that, an Additional Technical and Contractual Terms and Guidelines on Caring for Trees has been published in Ukrainian. It is available cost-free in the Project office.