On the day of "Earth Hour", March 25, 2017, at the Mariyinsky park in Kyiv, the "Avenue of the green future" was planted as part of the national campaign “Plant a Tree of Peace,” according to the Bureau of the UGCC on environmental issues.
On the day of "Earth Hour", March 25, 2017, at the Mariyinsky park in Kyiv, the "Avenue of the green future" was planted as part of the national campaign “Plant a Tree of Peace,” according to the Bureau of the UGCC on environmental issues.
The spiritual core of the event was an ecumenical prayer to God the Creator, led by Bishop Mykhailo (Koltun), chairman of the Committee on Environment of Synod of Bishops of the UGCC and Archbishop of Vyshgorod Agapit (Gumenyuk) of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
Bishop Mykhailo expressed his joy over the indefinite duration of the action “Plant a Tree of Peace,” which was initiated by the UGCC and supported by the Ministry of Environment Ukraine last autumn, on the eve of International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflicts.
Archbishop Agapit highlighted the role and message of each person as God's steward in the created world, and the personal responsibility of each person for the environment.
Rustam Sheikh Gafuri, a representative of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims Ukraine, emphasized the importance of restoring spiritual ecology in preserving the country and its environment.
Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine Ostap Semerak commented on the patriotic dimension of the initiative: “It shows that Ukrainian want peace and are ready to defend their territory and the nature from any violent actions. Planting of alleys began today in Ukraine. It was planned to plant about eight thousand different species of trees.”
First Deputy Chairman of Ukrainian Parliament Iryna Gerashchenko noted the importance of measures to restore the environment. The politician informed that in the near future it is planned to plant greenery in the areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions with the participation of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine as part of the national environmental perpetual campaign “Plant a Tree of Peace.”
The initiative will last the next 2 weeks supported by National parks and reserves.