October 24, the United Nations celebrated its 70th anniversary. UN Office in Ukraine commemorated that date with an important and useful event – “70 trees to the 70th UN anniversary.” This Saturday, the UN partners and volunteers in Ukraine have joined the students of the Kyiv Specialized School No.85 in the Mykola Hryshko National Botanic Garden.
Despite the rain in the chilly morning, the participants planted 70 ginkgo biloba trees (one of the oldest species of trees that survived to this day) and tree peonies. According to Natalia Zaimenko, Botanical Garden director, these species are “two iconic cultures.” She said that “the history of ginkgo tree reaches almost 250 million years back.” “In Eastern philosophy, it is linked with the concept of yin and yang, wisdom, patience, and longevity. Tree peony, another plant, is believed to help overcoming evil and lies,” continues Zaimenko.
Neal Walker, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Ukraine had also taken part in planting trees. “This event marks the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the UN, which is continued for a year. In the framework of this celebration we hosted many events. One of them was the recent ‘Music for Peace’ concert in Kyiv, in which many children took part,” Walker said.
Tetiana Fedunova, Principal of the Kyiv Specialized School No.85 comments that it is not the first time the students of her school attend the events of the UN Office in Ukraine.
“Once the children performed the calculation on how much waste paper one should collect to save the life of one tree. The number turned out to be 66 kg. We motivated the kids to collect paper for recycling, and the schoolchildren used the money collected to buy seedlings and plant the trees that will give seed to animals and birds. This event took place in Holosiivsky National Nature Park,” Fedunova recalled.
