An account of our Romania spring plantation by one of our volunteers

This spring our volunteer James Scipioni accompanied Forests Without Frontiers (FWF) founder Nicoleta on a visit to our plantations in Romania. Here’s his account of the trip.

It’s May – spring tree-planting season in Romania – and Nicoleta, Ion Holban, FWF project coordinator, and I set off from Nucșoara village to visit the plantation site, high in the Făgăraș Mountains . Not long after we leave Nucșoara we spot a rare Black Stork flying over the deliciously green riverside pastures. As we venture higher into the mountains the colours and scents of its steep-sided ravines change with different tree species, from Beech and Oak to Fir and Spruce. We bounce along an off-road path towards the planting site in Groapele, meaning ‘holes’, a historically significant area being the last hideout of Communist rebels in the 1950s.

Before reaching the site we stop at the workers’ lodge and the neighbouring ‘sapling refrigerator’, an intermediary point between the seedling nursery and the planting site. It’s an area of canopy-shadowed floor where 200,000 Spruce saplings have been resting for two weeks under branches and snow to help prepare them for being planted out. If conditions are favourable over the coming months, 70 percent of the planted seedlings will survive. Nico launches herself into action to help two workers, Crinu and Vladut, his 17-year-old son, load the Spruce seedlings into the back of a truck to take them to the plantation. As Crinu cradles each sapling and gently passes them to Nico he expresses his pride in being part of the effort to regenerate the forest.

Local workers Crinu and his 17 year old son Vlăduţ loading up the saplings

An Ecological Pilgrimage

We scramble onwards over steep terrain in a UTV and then on foot, the journey up the mountain now beginning to feel like a pilgrimage to a sacred natural sanctuary. But as we reach 1,500 metres altitude the more tragic the view of Groapele’s landscape becomes, a vast mountainside desert devoid of life. The sight of the stark and naked land is profoundly upsetting. Demolished and illegally clear cut 10 years ago, we see what it once was in the distant forest valleys below and along the site’s fringes with pioneer species such as Willow, Poplar, and Silver Birch. It is here that Forests Without Frontiers is helping the natural regeneration process for a resilient secondary forest, aiming to plant 200 hectares in the next 3-5 years. Without intervention this landscape would remain barren.

*Nico catching up with the local workers on their lunch break*

In the distance, we hear the click and clatter of pickaxes amongst the jubilant chatter of tree planters. Nico, Ion and I hike up to join them. They are warmly welcomed by the 30 planters employed from the surrounding villages, a quarter of which are female. Nico is quickly given a pickaxe and with a few big swings begins digging a hole so her team member can easily plant a springy sapling. Not only will these saplings be under the watchful eye of Forest Rangers but they shall also be protected from any future logging activity, planted on private land owned by Forests Without Frontiers’ partner Foundation Conservation Carpathia (FCC). A fence is currently being constructed to prevent grazing from roaming sheep.

Local Guardians & Carers

*The workers on the plantation site where the scale of deforestation is visible*

Mihai Zotta, Technical Director with FCC, catches up with Ion on the latest developments in wider ecological restoration efforts. Both agree that there has been a significant shift in attitude to environmental protection and animal welfare. The political landscape in Romania has greatly improved with illegal logging being less tolerated and a maximum legal clear-cut area of 3 hectares permitted. The law also obliges landowners to plant trees following any logging activity. Unfortunately, illegal logging does continue and although the law requires the re-planting of trees to take place, this is often not happening which is why the work we do is so important; we need to continue our plantations with FCC where we know our trees will be protected.

A forest full of song

Nico’s motivation is heart-driven with a sense of responsibility to care for and celebrate Romania’s natural treasures, further lifted by the team’s energetic dedication. Frustratingly, Nico has not been able to visit Romania frequently during the pandemic but it was obvious that her first visit in over a year re-connected her to the team and her cause. Without doubt she will be returning more frequently and spending significantly more time in Romania as Forests Without Frontiers continues to develop.

Nico planting a sapling with local worker Sorin

I’m grateful I was able to share the planting experience and meet such inspiring people working for the forests of the future. The saplings that were planted today were gifts for us all - for the beauty of a restored forest providing us with clean water, healthy soils, a stable climate and a wealth of biodiversity. Just as the sun was dropping below the mountain summit Nico planted her final Spruce sapling of the day. As she bedded and secured the sapling in its surrounding soil with her shifting feet, I grinned to myself, enjoying what looked like a ritual dance around the young tree.