A wave of indignation on social networks after it became clear that the emblematic pine tree planted in 1961 by Yuri Gagarin in the yard of the capital's 138th school was cut down, bTV reports.
The tree has dried up and is potentially dangerous to the life and health of children, the school management and experts from the Sofia Municipality indicate.
„Dear children, I know that you all want to become cosmonauts, so you will have to study excellently all your life.“
With these words 65 years ago, the first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin addressed the students of the 138th school in Sofia, which then bore his name. And in order for his legacy to remain in time, he planted a pine tree in the yard. However, the tree survived only a few months and another one was planted in the same place.
“This tree is actually the tree that was planted in the roots of our first pine tree that Yuri Gagarin planted. According to eyewitnesses, people from the neighborhood and colleagues, it did not withstand the adaptation period and after 3-4 months it withered. In its roots, the public immediately planted a new pine tree in the same place“, says Daniela Tsankova, director of 138. SUZIE “Prof. Vasil Zlatarski“.
Thus, although with a new tree, Gagarin's legacy remains for the little dreamers with their eyes on the stars. And this is not the only such tree in the schoolyard.
On this alley in the schoolyard, trees were planted by the first Bulgarian cosmonaut Georgi Ivanov, by the second - Alexander Alexandrov, as well as by the first female cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova.
In recent years, however, the condition of the tree in the school's space alley has been deteriorating and its crown is gradually drying out.
„My story with this tree probably begins around 2020. In 2021, they did the first examination of the tree individual with our machine, during which we found that its wood was actually healthy. But the thing that made us check it regularly even then was the characteristic tilt that had occurred. This usually happens with trees. A natural process. I can't say that there is any physiological reason for this, but the tree itself has a slight deviation from the axis of about 10%, which could potentially be a prerequisite for its fall in the right wind“, points out Dimitar Petrov, chief expert at the “Green System“ Directorate of the Sofia Municipality.
The tree poses a danger, experts are categorical.
“It is a fir tree. This is one of the large species that grows very slowly. The tree was completely dried up, that is, we can define it as in poor physiological condition. Unfortunately, in the last few years, this particular species has been suffering from drought, which is not only in the soil, but also in the air, which does not affect it well at all. In reality, mature individuals physiologically weaken and simply dry up. Suddenly, the entire crown was absolutely dry, without any living part in it. This is precisely what necessitated its rapid securing“, says Dimitar Petrov.
Concerned about the emblematic tree and the safety of the children, in the last year alone the school principal has reported the matter to the local authorities several times.
“This pine tree has been sick for quite some time and for quite some time we have been worried about the lives and health of our students and the people from the neighborhood, who on Saturdays, Sundays, after-work and after-school hours often rest here or remember with sentimentality the time when they were students“, says Daniela Tsankova.
“Specialists have examined the condition of the tree at least twice. We all have a special sentiment towards this tree and for us it is part of the history of each of us and of the school. That is why we experienced a lot of hesitation until we reached this final decision. But the moment when we have to protect the lives and health of children is really more important than taking risks with a wilting, obviously unhealthy tree, which is actually a living organism. It is born, develops and dies when its turn comes“, she points out.
The tree has not been completely removed – about 5 meters of its trunk have been left, and a check is pending as to whether it is safe in this form. However, its emblematic history will remain.
„With what is left of the tree, we have an idea for the public, teachers, students to call an artist, painter, sculptor, woodcarver or whatever these specialists are called, to carve a sculpture from the remaining trunk, which would be with the idea of the story that happened to Yuri Gagarin – "either a rocket or space planetary plots," says the principal.
The school is still gathering ideas on how to preserve Gagarin's legacy.