Dragalina
Location: Dragalina Commune, Călărași County
GPS coordinates:
- Plot 1. Constantin Brâncoveanu Water Intake Station: Lat. 44.4803134, Long. 27.3954629
- Plot 2. Duiliu Zamfirescu Technological High School: Lat. 44.4305161, Long. 27.3444642
- Plot 3. North of Constantin Brâncoveanu Village: Lat. 44.4810025, Long. 27.4113769
Objective: Establishment of a shelterbelt to protect local communities and public infrastructure.
Project start: Spring 2019
Total area: 5 hectares
Planted area: 2.7 hectares
Specii plantate: salcâm (Robinia pseudoaccacia), ulm de Turkestan (Ulmus pumilla), măceș (Rosa canina), sânger (Cornus sanguinea)
Canopy closure: 2024
Current project status: Canopy established
Partners
Companies: Autonom, Cora, Ecoxtrem, Metro Systems, Henkel, ING Bank, ING Tech, Gefco, SmartDreamers, Equilobe, Dell, UPC, Jumbo Holidays, Ursus, Goldman Sachs Gives, CEP, Rohde & Schwarz Topex, Telekom, Paul Hartmann SRL, Nomenius, Școala de Valori, and individual donors.
Institutions: Danubius High School, Economic High School, and Mihai Eminescu High School in Călărași (participants in the Ecoprovocarea competition), Romsilva, Călărași Forest Directorate, and Dragalina Town Hall.
Why establish the shelterbelt?
Dragalina is located in the southern part of the Bărăgan Plain, on the plateau between the Danube Floodplain to the south and the Ialomița Floodplain to the north. The commune is also home to the Ciulnița railway junction and the road interchange connecting National Road DN21 (Călărași, Slobozia) with the A2 Motorway (the Sun Motorway).
In recent years, the locality has been increasingly affected by extreme weather events, including heavy snowstorms, wind gusts of up to 140 km/h, and even tornadoes, such as the one that struck the area in 2019. Establishing shelterbelts could help mitigate these risks within just a few years, while also providing additional benefits, including increased soil water retention, improved productivity of adjacent agricultural land, climate change mitigation, and regulation of local water and temperature regimes.
The Adopt a Tree programme began establishing shelterbelts in Dragalina to protect access roads, water intake stations, the Duiliu Zamfirescu Technological High School, and the village of Constantin Brâncoveanu from extreme weather events.
The land provided by Dragalina Town Hall covers approximately 5 hectares and is divided into three plots.
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