At the old tanneries for the Environment

With tree planting… a la Japanese style in an once environmentally burdened area, the old tanneries of Thessaloniki, EYATH will celebrate World Environment Day, June 5, in collaboration with the Region of Central Macedonia.

Elementary school students from Kalochori and Kordelio will plant seed balls using the Fukuoka method, a natural cultivation method developed in Southern Japan and recommended by the United Nations Development Program. The children will initially be informed by the environmental group “Echedorou Physis” about the importance of sustainable development practices, such as the Fukuoka technique, which protects the soil from erosion and climate risks. Then they will shape seed balls with their hands from clay soil and soil conditioner compost and deposit them in the “planting” area. Honey and acacia trees will be “planted”, both of which are resistant trees, while… the Fukuoka method is also resistant, which is recommended for the revegetation of desertified areas and does not require machinery, chemicals or soil preparation – the regular tree planting season begins in October. After the tree planting-game with the “clay”, the students will prepare badges on a special machine with environmental messages to celebrate the day.

This will be preceded, early in the morning, by a coastal clean-up in the area with waste sorting, which will be accompanied by information on the importance of the circular economy and an enlightening game about the decomposition time of waste.

Tree plantings in areas burdened by pollution and industrial activity are an important step towards their sustainable reconstruction. The abandoned buildings of the old tanneries, next to the port of Thessaloniki, were demolished in 2024 as part of an emblematic intervention by the Region of Central Macedonia for the cleaning, sanitation and enhancement of the western coastal front. Extensive cleaning work followed on hundreds of acres of land, as well as groundwater, restoring environmental balance and sustainability in an area that for decades was an open environmental wound for Thessaloniki. Today, the area of ​​the old tanneries bears no resemblance to the image of the past. The natural regeneration of the area is visible, while the Region of Central Macedonia is organizing soft recreational infrastructure and environmental projects, both in the old tanneries and in the western coastal front as a whole.

For Environment Day, EYATH is also supporting the two-day event of the Municipality of Thessaloniki with ANAKEM and the “Friends of Nea Paralia” association, on June 4 and 5 (09:00 to 13:00) at the “Rose Garden” in Nea Paralia.

The hashtag for this year’s World Environment Day is #beatplasticpollution and it is a call for collective action to tackle plastic pollution. According to the UN, the latter has even penetrated the human body in the form of microplastics! It is therefore of utmost necessity to adopt sustainable recycling and circular economy practices, and also to reach an agreement on a global treaty to end plastic pollution across the planet.

The Deputy Governor of Thessaloniki, K. Gioutikas, and the member of the Board of Directors of EYATH S.A., I. Dovletoglou, welcome the event about the environment at the old tanneries

Με την τεχνική φουκουόκα φτιάχτηκαν σπορόμπαλες για μελιές και ακακίες, τις οποίες έριξαν τα παιδιά στον περιβάλλοντα χώρο

Οι μαθητές από το Καλοχώρι και το Κορδελιό καθάρισαν, πριν από τη δενδροφύτευση, την ακτή δίπλα στα παλιά βυρσοδεψεία