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.
84 ǀ POSITIV 2/2022
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.