In May 2022, together with employees of HAGS Poland, we planted 200 beech seedlings. We didn’t have to convince them of the importance of such action. Motivated, they came to the planting site and together we planted trees in Ujsoły.

Where did we plant the trees this time?

The place we have chosen is Soblówka – the Ujsoły Commune in the Silesian Voivodeship, belonging to the so-called pristine corners of Poland. 70% of its area is made up of forests.

It is also the territory of Beskid Żywiecki, the second-highest mountain range in Poland. The highest place is called Babia Góra. Geologically, the Beskid belongs to the Outer Carpathians.

Why did we plant trees right there?

The spring planting was different than usual and mainly had an educational purpose. The owners, who live in the area, have watched the landscape change throughout their lives. The monoculture planting of spruce has led to the depletion of the soil, which now takes in water very poorly. Due to the shallow root system of spruce, there are also losses in the stands.

The goal is to improve the situation of the degraded tree stand through new plantings, this time of suitable tree species. Who did we educate? First of all, volunteers, although it is much more important for us to educate local citizens, who often don’t think of planting species other than spruce.

Who did we plant trees with?

HAGS has been designing, manufacturing, installing and servicing recreational equipment for more than 60 years. It was founded in 1948 in Sweden. It opened its branch in Sosnowiec in 2017.  Its mission is to improve the world with outdoor play equipment for children. The company is part of the global leader PlayPower Inc. It supplies not only children’s toys, but also park and city, water and shade devices around the world.

As the company’s representative, Paweł Karlak, said: “One of our core products are pines, which we’re importing from Sweden. As compensation to the enviroment, we have added something drom ourselves today”.

Many of the employees were planting trees for the first time in their lives, but they decided to take this type of action to support our environment. Nevertheless, there was no shortage of laughter and joy in the activities we undertook. It was a great break from everyday life and, in a way, team integration.

Certificate for planting trees

After each planting campaign, our partner receives a certificate saying how much carbon dioxide emissions they have offset. We convert the planted trees into a number of tons, how much carbon dioxide these trees will absorb over 100 years. This was the case this time as well.

“Most of our partners take much more from the environment than what they give back with such actions, but we see that the mentality and view of the environment is changing. The important factor is for companies to become greener and create their products based on respect for the environment” – said Marek Piątkowski, president of the Aeris Futuro Foundation.

We would like to thank HAGS for its contribution to improving the ecosystem by planting trees that we were able to plant together as part of the TIME FOR FOREST.