Over 8 000 trees and 115 000 shrubs to be planted in Moscow this spring

Over 115,000 shrubs and 8,000 trees will be planted in Moscow in spring 2014, Head of the Department for Environmental Management and Protection Anton Kulbachevsky said at a press conference.

The Million Trees drive started in autumn 2013. “Back then, we planted more than 3,000 trees and 26,000 shrubs,” Mr Kulbachevsky said. This year, the authorities plan to plant about 70,000 trees and over 222,000 shrubs.

Moscow will continue the container gardening experiment that was launched last spring. Conifers on Tverskaya Street will be replaced with linden trees after the May holidays. “It was decided to plant linden trees in spring and summer,” Mr Kulbachevsky said, “and replace them with conifers in autumn and winter, returning the summer trees to the nursery for rehabilitation. In all, we planted 67 trees and 600 shrubs.”

Several maples and elms will be planted on Tverskaya Street in addition to linden trees. “The spring-summer 2013 experiment turned out badly for only 4% of the trees,” he said. “The experts acknowledged that the experiment was a success.”

Mr Kulbachevsky noted that spots for installing 30 containers with apple and ornamental cherry trees on Zemlyanoy Val Street have been identified.

In addition, Mr Kulbachevsky spoke about the Earth Day environmental drive to be held in the Pokrovskoye -Streshnevo Park on 26 April. A spring cleaning day will be held in the Pokrovskoye-Streshnevo Park at 2A Voikovsky Proyezd on 26 April at noon. “The participants will get the chance to do some cleaning work,” he said, “take part in workshops, learn to build birdhouses and get some basic facts about nature.”

According to him, the event will end with a concert and a dance flash mob. “All recyclable waste will be removed and turned over for processing,” he said.

Over 8,000 people took part in the month-long drive to clean and beautify urban areas. “All areas operated by the department are being brought up to code,” he said. “The drive attracted over 8,000 people. About 120 units of equipment were used.”

About 200 picnic areas will be open in Moscow during the spring and the summer.

“The full list of picnic areas is available on our website. In addition, grills, trash bins and benches are available in nature and historical parks, such as Izmailovo, Kosinsky, Kuzminki-Lublino, Tsaritsino, Bitsevskiy Les, Moskvoretsky, Pokrovskoye-Streshnevo, and Tushino,” Mr Kulbachevsky said. Picnic grounds are also available in the Teply Stan nature reserves, the Setun River valley, the Skhodnya River valley and forest parks in Khimki, Kryukovo and Khlebnikovsky.

Moscow water recreational areas have been identified. “In the Eastern Administrative Area, a swimming recreational area will be available in the Kosinsky Park — Beloye Lake,” Mr Kulbachevsky said, “in the Zelenograd Administrative Area, the Chernoye Lake and the Dunkin Pond non-swimming recreational area, in the Southwestern Administrative Area, the Bolshoy Troparevsky Pond, in the Northwestern Administrative Area, Serebryany Bor and two beaches with a swimming area and one without a swimming area, two non-swimming areas in Moskvoretsky Park, and a non- swimming recreational area in the Pokrovskoye-Streshnevo Park,” he said .

Recreational areas in parks and elsewhere will be outfitted with 130 and 150 athletic grounds, 150 playgrounds, 14 nature trails, seven bike routes, and 15 facilities with caged animals and 36 Wi-Fi hotspots.

During the press conference, Mr Kulbachevsky added that the Plant a Victory Tree ecopatriotic drive will be held in Serebryany Bor on 6 May.