In the Lviv park “Zalizna Voda”, near the central entrance from Stusa Street, the Alley of Memory of Heroes has appeared. Eight families of fallen servicemen from Lviv decided to plant trees in memory of their defenders.
The families met at the Field of Honor of the Lychakiv Cemetery, where fallen servicemen are buried. They say they were united by a common grief.
“We decided to plant the Alley of memory of our defenders. This avenue is not about death, not about pain, it is about life. It is about the fact that our relatives have become history, and today history will be reborn here with the life of our trees. We wanted to leave something that will live on after us in memory of them,” said Bohdana Sprinchane, the wife of the fallen serviceman Oleksandr Sprinchane.
Name metal plates in the form of military tokens were attached to each tree. On them are the names of the defenders, date of birth, date and place of death.
“Recently, I read that a tree is a symbol of the union of heaven and earth, so this Alley of Memory, these trees are very symbolic for us. Our Heroes are already in heaven, but their memory lives here on earth, in our thoughts and hearts, and now in these trees. We must always remember and do everything so that everyone remembers these men, brothers and sons who voluntarily went to protect us. I want people to come here, see these trees, read the names on the plaques and know each one of them.
This tree is in honor of my husband, the father of our beautiful daughter, Taras Chaika, who voluntarily went to the front from the first days of the war, despite the fact that he had the second group of disabilities. He went to protect us for the sake of our calm and peaceful future,” says Sofia Chaika, the wife of the fallen serviceman Taras Chaika.
“Maple sycamore is a very huge tree, it is very powerful. And when I read what it symbolized, I was simply delighted, it was all about my son: courageous, brave, tall. This tree is now a symbol of immortality,” says Anna Karashetska, mother of the fallen soldier Mykhailo Mikheev.
Trees were planted in the park as part of the city-wide campaign “I want to plant a tree.” Representatives of the “Mars Field” organization – relatives of the fallen Lviv servicemen – approached the Department of Ecology and Natural Resources of the LMR, offering to plant trees.
“Now, 8 sycamore maples have been planted here, which were purchased with the funds of the families, but delivery, planting and care are with our help. The trees are planted in a nature reserve, so they complement the park nicely. These trees are quite strong, grow well and are usually disease-free. But our gardener Oksana Sofiyanchuk, who is responsible for this park, will look after them and, if necessary, we will cultivate them,” said Oksana Lutsko, deputy head of the ecology department of the Lviv City Council.
An information stand with the names and photos of servicemen was placed near the alley. There is a QR code next to each one, which you can click on to read about the Heroes.