Koprivnica is adorned with a self-sustaining orchard with more than 900 plants planted in a permaculture manner

A food forest is a dynamic ecosystem designed to mimic the structure and functions of a natural forest where fruits, vegetables and other useful plants grow.

It consists of layers of edible plants, trees, shrubs and herbs, carefully planted to create a sustainable and productive landscape. On 1/10 of a hectare of land by permaculture planting, more than 2000 kg of food can be grown per year.

WWF, in cooperation with the City of Koprivnica and their utility company Komunalac, planted the largest food forest in Croatia, thus marking Earth Day.

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This food forest, which will be publicly available to students and citizens, "sprouted" on April 22 at the University of the North in Koprivnica, as an effective tool for adapting to the growing climate crisis.

"We planted the first food forest last year in Koprivnica, the center of the European Amazon, UNESCO's five-state Mura-Drava-Danube biosphere reserve. We celebrate this Earth Day by planting the largest food forest, even five times larger than last year's, with 150 fruit trees and as many as 750 seedlings of complementary aromatic and herbaceous plants, as well as smaller fruit trees and vegetable gardens. The best thing of all is that due to planting in a permaculture way, it is actually - self-sustaining", she pointed out Nataša Kalauz, executive director of WWF Adria during the planting, especially thanking Komunalac for the excellent cooperation and commitment to this large and important project.

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On the eve of the actual planting of the food forest, which was attended by the mayor of Koprivnica, Mišel Jakšić, as well as numerous kindergarteners, pupils and students, during a brief overview of Earth Day, the director of the nature protection program at WWF Adrija, Quince Mazzocco Lumberjack she pointed out why the food forest is the best way of planting given the current climate.

"From month to month we witness different climate records and weather extremes that remind us that the climate has already changed and that it continues to change and makes both nature and us more and more vulnerable. Just today, the report of the European climate service Copernicus was published, in which, among other things, it is stated that in 2023 a record number of days with extreme heat stress was recorded and that heat-related mortality increased by 30 percent in the last 20 years", she said. 

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Green areas in cities are one of the more efficient ways to reduce the heat island, and forests planted in this way will preserve themselves in changed climate conditions.

Actions like this and encouraging citizens to replicate food forests in their homes are a useful tool for adapting to the climate crisis and all the weather extremes we are facing, said Mazzocco Drvar.

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During this celebration, the winners of Terrapia 2.0 'Vote for the Earth' were announced. After last year's Terrapija, which presented the first Croatian digital climate dictionary, in its continuation the project is focused on clarifying the topic of climate change with a call to action.

Students of the University of the North presented their works, while a forest of food sprouted in the courtyard. The planting of the largest food forest took place thanks to the financial support of the partners and friends of this event, the Intesa Sanpaolo group.

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Photo and source: WWF Adria