This European country is creating huge new forests around all of its major cities – and the first one just opened

Good news if you're the sort of person who needs a good walk in the woods to stay sane. Poland has just launched the first of 11 planned ‘community forests’ around the country's major cities, giving millions of urban residents a stretch of protected woodland right on their doorstep.

The first one has opened around Wrocław, Poland’s third-largest city, covering an impressive 13,000 hectares. For context, that's roughly the size of Liverpool. Poland’s climate and environment minister, Paulina Hennig-Kloska, called it ‘a historic moment and the beginning of a new approach to forest protection’.

The aim is to create green spaces residents to relax, play sports and simply spend time close to nature, while also helping to retain water, regulate the climate and purify the air. 

The Wrocław forest is split into three zones. There are ‘natural forests’, which will be left entirely alone to do their own thing, ‘near-natural forests’ with minimal human intervention, and, taking up the largest share at over 8,000 hectares, ‘social forests’, where cycling paths, hiking trails and educational routes are planned, with logging restricted throughout. That means no more chopping down trees for timber.

Ten more cities are next in line, including Warsaw, Kraków, Poznań and Łódź, with Kielce and Bielsko-Biała reportedly the first contenders. It's all part of a wider environmental push from Poland's current government, which took office in December 2023 and moved to halt logging in some of the country's most valuable forests, following criticism of its predecessor's record on deforestation, particularly in the ancient Białowieża Forest.

The rise of the green city

Plenty of other European cities are getting greener, with nature corridors, new parks and tree planting helping to create a healthier environment in our urban centres.

Kraków features on Time Out's guide to the best cities in the world for green space, so its residents have every reason to be pleased they're now in line for a community forest of their own too. 

Discover Time Out's guide to the best hikes and walking trails in Europe.

ICYMI: This brand-new hiking trail crosses six countries, from Italy to Poland. 

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