Update #19: Overview of the 2023 / January 28, 2024

We would like to welcome 2024 with a short overview of the last year, because 2023 was incredibly busy year for us. We have not only planted another 10,000 trees but also significantly improved the tree nursery and expanded our activities with school events.

3 years of Trees for Lurë

We have prepared a short brochure summarizing our work over last three years, it includes key information for our Reforestation, Tree nursery and Local community projects.

The brochure as PDF in English, Albanian, Czech and German languages.

Reforestation

In 2023, we successfully planted 10,081 Black pine saplings and restored an additional 6.38ha in the Lure National Park, bringing the total number of trees to 22,793 and 15.22 hectares planted.

For more information, visit Reforestation project page. You can also read a detailed report about the 2023 planting operation in Update #18: 10,081 planted in Autumn 2023.

First trees from the nursery

This year has been special for us because, for the first time, we planted Black pine saplings produced in our tree nursery in Fushë-Lurë. This marks a huge milestone for Trees for Lure, paving the way for substantial cost savings in the future years and contributing to our long-term goal of a sustainable reforestation infrastructure within the Lure National Park.

Record community involvement

In 2023, we had a record number of workers joining our planting operation. During our first planting operation in 2021, we had 6 workers, and 35 joined us this year. This considerable increase has various reasons. However, the main one is that the project has gained the local community’s trust by operating consistently and transparently for the 3rd year.

School events

This year, we introduced a new way to involve schools with kids from the village of Lurë and around Albania. The main scope was to have educational activities during the planting season as an additional program to the project. We had an opportunity to show the kids the whole process, from the seeds - to saplings in the nursery - to planting trees in the National Park. We managed to have three separate events with three different schools. You can find more information in Update #17.

Tree nursery

Improving and extending our tree nursery was a primary task in 2023. We worked very hard on improving processes and growing practices to have better results and expand the nursery’s capacity.

For more detailed information, visit Tree nursery project page.

Greenhouse

Greenhouse is crucial to extend the vegetation period as much as possible in our colder climates. In Spring 2023, we built our first large 13m x 5m (65m²) greenhouse with a total capacity of 15,000 seedlings. It has become home to 5,600 Black pine and 3,000 European fir seedlings, which we planted in May 2023.

Seeds

We have improved the handling of the collected seeds and the preparation of the latter for sowing. All the seeds have been cleaned and separated to achieve higher germination rates. We have also used the Stratification process to further improve germination rates. Detailed information about the process in Update #15

Growing trays

In 2022, we used plastic bags to grow our seedlings. In 2023, we decided to switch to growing trays from the Swedish company BCC, made from recycled plastic and rated for 10 years of use. We use BCC HIKO V120SS to grow our 1st year seedlings.

Planting substrate

We switched to a plain peat substrate as our planting medium from the local soil for our 1st-year seedlings. The substrate has correct pH values without any fertilizers and additives, and this minimizes fungal infections in the early stages and gives us control over the fertilizers we use.

Monitoring system

We developed a monitoring and control system for monitoring vital data in the tree nursery. The system collects information about local weather, greenhouse temperature and humidity and, most importantly, soil moisture and transmits it using a GSM network. We use collected data to adjust watering, fertilizers and timing of the crucial tasks in the nursery.

Partners & Donors

We want to thank all the partners and donors who supported us in 2023, and we added a new Partners section with detailed information on how we work with our partners.

risr/, UK

We have to give special thanks to risr/ for their continuing support. Their contribution was key in extending the tree nursery in 2023.

BestSeller, Albania

We are proud to announce that BestSeller became our partner in 2023. We are happy to see a major brand from Albania joining our efforts. BestSeller decided to support us financially on a long-term basis starting in 2023.

One Tree Planted, USA

We have been working with One Tree Planted since the beginning of 2023 to deliver their first reforestation project in Albania. They provided co-funding for the 10,000 trees and expertise in setting up rigorous monitoring metodology for our reforestation project.

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On behalf of the whole team,
Pavel