Fallen trees on Vodno will be used to create a motor skills park

More than two weeks after the severe storm that hit Skopje and toppled hundreds of trees, clearing activities are still ongoing, and the City is using part of the wood mass for new public amenities on Vodno.

City of Skopje says that the healthy parts of the felled trees will not end up as waste, but will be used to create a motor skills park on Vodno — an area with natural wooden obstacles and apparatus intended for the development of balance, coordination, agility, precision and physical fitness.

The motor skills park will be accessible to children, youth and adults and will offer opportunities for recreation, physical activity and socializing outdoors. At the same time, new saplings are being planted in the places where the fallen trees were removed, and a large autumn afforestation action for Skopje is planned for the second half of September.

Where the wood will be taken and how it will be used

"According to established practice, the remaining wood mass will be allocated to socially vulnerable categories of citizens, who will be able to use it as firewood, in cooperation with the Red Cross and the NGO humanitarian organization 'St. Spas'. With this, in addition to clearing the consequences of the storm, the wood mass gains a useful purpose and represents support for the families who need it most," the City recently said.

After the clearing, the fallen leaves, small branches and other plant waste will be transported to the Drisla landfill, while the larger trunks and wood mass will be taken to the Public Enterprise "Parks and Greenery", where they will be stored and prepared for further use. It is planned that they will be used to make gazebos for Vodno, urban equipment, benches and fences; some of the fallen trunks will be used as firewood.

So far there is no information on whether any families from the at-risk categories have already received firewood. The project is part of broader activities for the restoration and improvement of Vodno; after the begun arrangement of pedestrian paths and the renovation of urban equipment, a mountain rescue service for rapid and professional interventions in mountain conditions already operates on Vodno and Matka.

Photo: City of Skopje