»Today dreams are allowed,« we whisper to ourselves as we work our way step by step around the City of Acrobats. This will not only be a high-tech hub, but also, in a broader sense, an environment that is pleasant to live in. That's why, alongside roads, walls and machines, we are also planning green parks and landscaping larger areas of woodland.

.

.

All summer we cut blackberries, thin the undergrowth, clear dead trees and give light and space to create a rich forest years from now. As there is never too much greenery, we have now reforested most of the roadside, and we have done it in a very scientific way.

.

.

Initially, there was a proposal to plant black and white pine and birch. But Uroš Zalokar, who manages the green areas of the City of Acrobats, was not in favour of this. »Pine trees don't belong in our environment. In winter you need the airiness that deciduous trees give.« Jani Cestnik, a pearl of knowledge for many things, also nodded. Marjan Špacapan, who also gave his important insights and reflections from the experience of many reforestations. 

If not pine trees, then what?

Uroš has read the pages of many books, gathered expert opinions and obtained key suggestions from Dr Janez Pirnat, a retired professor at the Faculty of Biotechnology. They took into account the characteristics of the local environment, the allergenicity of each species, the expected heights, the light required... and based on all the information gathered, they wrote a planting proposal.

.

.

They chose 13 different types of trees and 4 shrubs for the areas closer to the road. Jure added a DOB oak to the proposal, symbolically: »Because Dobrna used to be here.«

Why so many species? »It's nice to have a mixed forest. One tree blooms, then another... and it all comes out more - more varied and richer to look at.« Or to put it more simply - because it's beautiful. 

How to plant? 

There are several ways of planting. The practicality of landscaping between the trees makes a structure-less planting unfavourable, so a triangular planting with 2.5 m spacing between the two saplings (Option B) was proposed.

.

.

OK, let's do it this way. 

According to forestry standards, 80 % is considered a successful planting. »To maximise this percentage, we used a special substrate called BVB bio potground,« which is not common in reforestation. »We put one shovel of substrate in each hole, then put the tree in, put a little soil, then another shovel of substrate and pushed it around the roots with our hands to make the soil and substrate stick to the roots of the tree as much as possible. Once the planting was complete, we protected the sensitive trees from game and fertilised them with Bioorganik, a 100 % natural all-purpose organic fertiliser,« explains Uroš Zalokar. 

We have planted more than 700 trees and ... 

.

.

... we didn't like it. 

The undulating terrain was pleasing to the eye, while the straight areas had distinct lines that clearly indicated an artificial formation. We wanted it more... natural. »Strange,« we laugh, »Jure didn't like that pattern, but it was all so nicely in line. As a machinist, he likes straight lines, nice, to scale. But he didn't like this. It was really strange.« 

We were looking for a new way. 

All thoughts turned to the laws of nature. »Most things in the structure of nature you don't even notice, you just feel that it is pleasant. But we feel comfortable when things are in a certain harmony that nature creates. So it makes sense to follow these principles as much as possible,« Uroš reflected.   

Vid Kok, Jani Cestnik, Uroš Zalokar, (Jure Knez remotely) had several working meetings, discussions and planning.

We have found a solution. Vid suggested the Golden Ratio, also known as the Fibonacci sequence. 

.

.

This familiar sequence occurs frequently in nature. Even the human body is built according to the golden ratio principle, which was used effectively in art by Leonardo da Vinci. The golden section is regarded as a symbol of orderliness in the visual arts and signifies the coherence of the measured composition of a work of art. As it often appears in nature, it is beautiful to the eye. It works properly. It creates harmony. 

Vid initially made a computer model. They used a drone to take a picture of the planting area and attached the point model to it. 

.

.

But how to mark this on the actual surface in nature? 

Initially, they thought of a wooden jig. Then Vid suggested GPS measurements, which are not accurate enough on a phone. But there are RTK base stations and receivers that can pinpoint a location to within a centimetre with your phone.  

The easiest way would have been to call a surveyor, but, »We don't need a surveyor if we have Vid Kok.« A bit of a joke, but he really did a real study of these measurements. He studied them, he studied them, and as soon as he got his hands on the receiver, he was standing on the plot at 11 p.m., in excited anticipation, trying out the measurements. 

.

.

There was only one challenge - the nearest base station is in Markovci, 70 km away. It was still working in the evening, but not in the morning, when the transplant was due to take place.

»What if we bought our own base station?« So now there are only a few RTK base stations in Slovenia, and one of them is in Trbovlje, in the middle of the City of Acrobats. The investment has proved to make sense, as Dewesoft and others can now use it for measurements. 

He used this equipment to mark the planting sites on the ground to the nearest centimetre so that we could transplant the trees in the upper part of the reforestation.  

This is now the only known example of a golden section reforestation. It is also one of the few (or only) cases where reforestation has been approached in such a scientific way. And probably also one of the few (or only) where freshly planted seedlings were transplanted within two weeks. 

How did it turn out in the second one? Uroš replies in one voice: »Now it's top-notch!« Vid: »It's not quite ok yet.«

Well, obviously we are not yet unanimous here. »When I develop a product,« Vid explains, »it's never perfect the first time, or the second time, or the third time.« 

So are we going to replant again? We looked at Jureto: »We're not transplanting again!« 

So we agree - now it's top-notch! Come and take a look. 

.

.

P.s.: Uroš recently said, very carefully, »Now that I look at the lower part of the roadside planting, and the upper part - the difference is obvious. And I'm drawn ... Jure has already asked if we will replant the lower part too. Well, I'm just thinking about how to go about making the transplant as successful as possible, when would be the best time, maybe in the spring when conditions are optimal ... The team is great, the rest is solvable. Vid is already upgrading the reforestation model for larger areas.«

We suspect that this is not the end of the tree planting (and transplanting) story.