March 27, 2024
In the spirit of a joint contribution to environmental preservation and the development of ecological awareness among young people, representatives of HBIS Serbia together with students and teachers organized in the City Student Parliament of Smederevo's primary and secondary schools, successfully carried out an action of planting 26 coniferous and ornamental deciduous tree saplings today in the courtyard of the Primary School "Ivo Andrić" in Radinac.
This activity, part of the broader "Development of Young People's Ecological Culture" project, is aimed at promoting ecological values through joint work and team synergy. Geography professor and coordinator of the City Student Parliament, Boris Zdravković, highlighted the importance of cooperation with HBIS Serbia, which enabled the realization of this valuable initiative through the donation of saplings. He mentioned that this was the second joint activity within the project framework and reminded of the beginning of cooperation that started with discussions with experts from the steel plant: “In a lecture held two months ago, facts dispelled our prejudices. We realized that there are multiple polluters, and their practice is very educational and beneficial. We are glad that the initiative of students led to the realization of today's event.”
Ljubica Drejk, General Manager for Environmental Protection, stated that this practical afforestation action contributes to the improvement of air quality and the aesthetic arrangement of the school courtyard space. Recalling the air quality measurement results, she mentioned that environmental improvement is the result of the direct impact of the work of the New Sinter Line. “The measuring station in Radinac showed much better results in 2023 compared to 2022. Comparing two key parameters - the number of days with PM10 values greater than 50 micrograms per cubic meter and the average annual value of PM10 particles in 2022 and 2023, an improvement is clearly visible. This automatic measuring station recorded 123 days with PM10 particle values greater than 50 µg/m3 in 2022, while in 2023, that number of days was 65. Looking at the average annual value for PM10, in 2022 it was 46.4 µg/m3, while in 2023, for the first time, it was below the legal limit of 40 micrograms per cubic meter! We are not stopping there, we continue to work further, this is just the beginning of the company's transformation into a green factory,” Drejk emphasized.
Representatives of the City Parliament and hosts from the school in Radinac expressed great satisfaction at the end of the action that they had moved from theory to practice in enhancing environmental protection.
HBIS Serbia and project participants hope that this activity will serve as inspiration and incentive for similar initiatives and contribute to the development of ecological awareness and sustainable development practices in the local community.
