One Million Trees: Time for the 11th season of making Moscow green

Millions of trees and shrubs

The One Million Trees programme dates back to the autumn of 2013, when  about 3,000 young trees and over 25,000 shrubs were planted in local courtyards. Since then, over two million shrubs have been planted, and the number of trees will top 100,000 before the year is out.

This autumn alone, over 9,000 trees and over 158,000 shrubs will be planted in courtyards and at social facilities. Any plants that were affected by the heatwave or thunderstorms will be pulled up and replaced.

Most trees and some shrubs are never planted in the summer as this is something that should be done during the autumn months when trees start shedding their leaves. Plants in full bloom are better left alone because their roots might be damaged, although only slightly. This impairs the ability of a plant to drink water, and it would eventually simply wither away. Therefore each new planting season commences in the spring or autumn. 

Choosing planting locations

Over 17,000 courtyards have received trees and shrubs to date, with Muscovites themselves choosing almost 50 percent of these locations. In 2014, city residents were allowed to independently decide what territories needed new trees most of all. The city government together with some of the residents jointly choose planting locations; some of them are suggested by district councils, with participants in the Active Citizen project choosing the rest.

After the vote, authorities check the list of courtyards to be sure that the planting of new trees and shrubs runs don’t violate construction norms and regulations. After the list of territories is approved, experts compile a map showing the places where there are utility mains. This past spring, Active Citizen users voted for 1,969 courtyards that became green spots. And now, trees and shrubs will be planted on territories suggested by the city.

In the first few years of the programme, trees and shrubs were only planted in courtyards, but it was also decided to plant them around social facilities as of 2015. Today, the One Million Trees programme covers schools, kindergartens, hospitals, rehabilitation centres, orphanages and other social facilities. Over 1,300 such places have received over 12,000 trees and almost 250,000 shrubs.

The most popular varieties

The city now plants trees and shrubs being chosen by local residents who believe that birch-trees, fir-trees, rowan-trees, hawthorns, bird cherry trees, syringas, cornel-trees and others are best suited for Moscow’s environment.

Before each vote, dendrologists list plants that quickly root in the city which don’t require extensive care and can spruce up the cityscape. This list is later posted on the Active Citizen website, with experts later planting trees and shrubs that have been chosen by urban dwellers.

The list of trees and shrubs being voted on the Active Citizen website is updated time and again. For example, Amur cork trees were included in the 2018 voting list for the first time. These huge and branchy trees immediately riveted the public’s eye and appeared in some local courtyards already this past spring. Project participants have persuaded the city government to plant as many gorgeous and wonderful-smelling lilacs as possible. Over the past few years or so these wildly adored shrubs have been planted by popular demand, with Muscovites particularly preferring them.

Caring for trees and replacing them

Experts choose sturdy winter-resistant plants that will remain beautiful and healthy during every season. In addition to this, trees and shrubs are grown at special nurseries in the Moscow, Voronezh, Ryazan and Tula regions. Nevertheless, gardeners keep a keen eye on all the plants during the first 12 months, the most difficult period of their life. Tree trunks are shielded from sunlight and wind, their tops are pruned and sprayed, the soil is hoed, and fertiliser is applied. Needless to say, the plants are watered regularly and inspected for pests and possible diseases. 

Despite these measures, some trees might fail to take root and it is possible that some might become damaged by powerful thunderstorms or gale-force winds. Therefore they will be replaced by other plants, also under the One Million Trees programme.

Green City

Apart from the One Million Trees programme, the city is implementing other projects aiming to plant trees and shrubs in streets and public places, to reconstruct and open new parks. The Russian capital ranks among the greenest mega-cities worldwide. Trees and shrubs cover over 50 percent of Old Moscow’s territory. This is quite a lot, especially if we compare Moscow with other cities. Green spots account for not more than four percent of Beijing’s territory, also covering 26 and 21 percent of London and Paris cityscapes.