REGION

Poruba’s Greenery Grows By the Year

Lucie Baránková Vilamová has devoted her life to Ostrava’s second most populous district.

She was born in Poruba, graduated from its university and now has become its mayor.

She told us about the district‘s focus on green projects and its journey towards becoming

a modern hub attractive to residents.

An important aspect of Poruba’s beauty lies in

the abundance of greenery and flowers planted all

around. Are green projects a priority for the district?

Definitely. In recent years, we have been focusing

on the renovation of local parks and courtyards. In

my opinion, one of our most successful projects was

the revitalization of Družba Square. We planted new

foliage, created threshing paths, installed modern

furniture and arranged secluded areas for relaxation.

These changes gave the area a second life and, since

I live close by, I enjoy stopping in. The renovation of Jan

Neruda Square has enjoyed a similar level of success.

Currently, we are preparing the transformation of

the two parks by the Poklad House of Culture. One

of them will be turned into a relaxation zone with

a fountain, similar to the one that used to be at Masaryk

Square, while the other one will be more focused on

sports and recreation. Vítězslav Novák Square is also

in the queue for a facelift.

You make use of modern technologies when taking

care of vegetation. Could you tell us more about this?

We try to follow all the current trends and then adapt

them for use under our conditions. Simply copying

a system that works elsewhere is not enough. Each

location has its own specific conditions and it is key

to take them into account. We were considering

using the mosaic system of mowing grass for a while.

It is a schematic procedure during which a part of

the grass-plot is left uncut. The longer grass serves as

a food source for insects, and shelter for small animals

while also helping with adaptation to climate change.

However, this requires a large grass-plot and Poruba,

being a fairly dense urban area, does not possess

many areas that would qualify for this type of grass

maintenance.

“

This fulfills the same purpose

while also looking a lot better.

”

Did you manage to find any areas that you could

apply this to?

Yes, we did. We implemented this process in two

areas of Poruba, however, once again, we adapted

it according to our needs. Mosaic grass mowing

traditionally leaves lanes of grass uncut, and we

were not satisfied with that. Therefore, we contacted

the company that handles our vegetation maintenance

and arranged for them to leave circular islands uncut

instead. This fulfills the same purpose while also

looking a lot better.

Výrazná proměna parku

na náměstí Družby

Text: redakce

Foto: archiv Poruby

You mentioned courtyards…

Poruba’s courtyards have become somewhat of

a phenomenon, especially the oldest ones that

form truly private spaces. Many generations of

Poruba’s residents grew up around them and they

are even mentioned fondly in Jaromír Nohavica’s

songs. At this point, however, they are long

overdue for renovation. Last year, we renewed

the courtyard in Pionýrů street, and this year we

are moving on to the one by Jan Neruda Square.

Locals no longer register incremental changes but

large-scale improvements. The open-air atrium at

Col. Rajmund Prachala street is undergoing this

same transformation right now.

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Last year, you planted Poruba’s first flower meadow.

What were the results?

It was a great decision, for two reasons. First, the locals

love it. Social media was filled with people taking

pictures of the meadow on Francouzská Street.

Second, it allowed us to verify that this strategy serves

its purpose in protecting the climate. Though it may

be a small detail, everything counts. These results

solidified our decision to continue planting flowers in

other areas as well.

Where will people be able to find more of these

meadows?

Initially, we had five new places in mind; now we have

eleven. We want to allow people all across Poruba

to enjoy a view of these meadows. We filled another

3,755m2 with flowers. In total, Poruba now has almost

6,000m2 of wildflowers.

Ms Mayor, thank you for the interview.