Children and water managers plant trees at the Waste Water Treatment Plant in Liberec

On 22 April, Severočeské vodovody a kanalizace, a.s. (North Bohemian Water Supply and Sewerage, ScVK) employees, together with disabled primary school pupils, launched the long-term revitalisation of water management facilities in North Bohemia by planting trees at the Waste Water Treatment Plant in Liberec.

Petr Skokan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Severočeská vodárenská společnost a.s. (North Bohemian Water Supply Company, SVS), the owner of water treatment and sewage water purification plants, said: "What better Earth Day present could we give Mother Nature than planting a tree to offset the use of paper?" Representatives of the water management companies and the children, accompanied during their visit to the waste water treatment plant by ScVK volunteers, were shown the waste water purification procedures.

"We have been organising guided tours for primary and secondary school pupils, but we also wanted to offer disabled children this opportunity. Therefore, within corporate volunteering we have organised a visit for those children who don't usually get to see these facilities. We tailored the excursion and commentary to the young visitors," added Rostislav Čáp, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ScVK.

The visit to the waste water treatment plant was followed by tree planting. The trees were donated by Office Depot, the company that in tandem with the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague is implementing the Trees for Life® environmental programme. "We are pleased that owing to the long-term business co-operation with Severočeské vodovody a kanalizace, a.s. and the company's engagement in our Trees for Life^® environmental programme this year we can plant some of the trees in the very facilities managed by ScVK," said Bart Sasse, Regional Vice President for Central and Eastern Europe, Office Depot.

"I am pleased that the revitalisation is being launched here in Liberec. Tree planting at waste water treatment plants will undoubtedly contribute to better integration of these facilities into the landscape, especially when it comes to those facilities located in densely populated urban zones," said the Mayor of Liberec, Jiří Kittner, who together with the children also planted his tree for life.

The activities pertaining to drinking water production and waste water purification pursued by the companies of the Veolia Voda group are in their very essence closely linked with nature. Veolia Voda, a member of the international Veolia Environnement group, first and foremost uses its own technological know-how and strives to minimise the environmental impact of its activities. In addition to its core activities, it also endeavours to contribute to improving the quality of life in the areas the company operates in other ways too.

Trees for Life^® is an environmental programme of Office Depot, which for every 50 packages of Office Depot or Papirius paper sold plants a tree on behalf of the customer. The programme is being implemented under the auspices of the Faculty of Forestry, Wildlife and Wood Sciences of the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague. Since 2003, when the Trees for Life project was launched, more than 200,000 trees have enriched the greenery of the Czech landscape.