The Scout Association of Croatia has carried out a remarkable reforestation campaign and planted 53,000 trees in 2024 alone, mainly English oaks. This is part of a wider campaign that has seen 178,000 trees planted in the Croatian landscape over the past three years.

The reforestation actions are being carried out as part of the CO2MPENSATING BY PLANTING project and the “Sumoborci” (“Forest Guardians”) educational programme organised by the Scout Association of Croatia, the state forest management company “Croatian Forests” and the HEARTH agency (a corporate social responsibility agency).

Around 9,900 volunteers took part in reforestation activities throughout Croatia

“This year was the most intensive so far. This year, in two cycles – in spring and autumn – 37 reforestation campaigns were carried out with around 3,400 volunteers, during which 53,000 trees, mainly English oaks, were planted,” reports the Scout Association of Croatia.

The project was launched at the end of 2021 to restore forest areas that have been directly or indirectly damaged by climate change or other natural disasters that have led to the degradation of thousands of hectares of forest land.

In the three years of implementation, around 9,900 “Sumoborci” volunteers took part in reforestation activities across Croatia and planted more than 178,000 new trees, mainly oaks, according to the Scout Association of Croatia.

40 schools and 35 companies involved

The preparation of areas for reforestation, the selection of sites and suitable tree species, technical support and the monitoring of reforestation campaigns are carried out in cooperation with experts from HŠ.

More than 40 partner schools and 35 companies have participated in the project so far.

The “CO2MPENSATING BY PLANTING” project, the “Sumoborci” programme and its sister project Boranka are currently the largest voluntary reforestation programmes in Croatia.

The project is supported by the Ministry of Science, Education and Youth, the Agency for Mobility and EU Programmes, the Representation of the European Commission in Croatia, the Office of the European Parliament in Croatia and the City of Zagreb.