1000 trees for Erftstadt - Antonia's last wish
The last wish of a little girl was to become reality in Erftstadt: Shortly before her death, ten-year-old Antonia had wished for 1,000 trees to be planted in the town. She even wrote a letter to the Office for Green Spaces. The city council took up the request and successfully submitted an application for funding to the NRW ERDF program. The project was then supported as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic (REACT-EU).
The letter
At the beginning of July 2019, two days before Erftstadt's anniversary, Antonia died at the age of ten after a short, serious illness. Before her death, she gave her parents two instructions: "I'm fine, take care of my siblings!" and: "Why don't people understand that we will all die without trees?". Her parents only realized how serious Antonia's concern was after her death. They found a letter on her desk addressed to Mr. Schulz from the Department for Roads, Green Spaces and Cemeteries. In it, the ten-year-old asked the head of the department to plant 1,000 trees in Erftstadt: "Are you happy with that? Then please buy the trees. We just have to ask the police. And then discuss where we plant the trees. Your Antonia."
Antonia's wish becomes reality
This last wish, this order from Antonia, should now become reality, and her parents Claudia and Florian are committed to making it happen. "With 14 districts, there is an average planting of 72 trees per district. Trees are life, they can connect villages and people. The motto of our town, 'Growing together', could also be given an understandable face for children through the trees," they write on the homepage they have set up for this purpose.
Her class teacher Christian Rüschel described Antonia with the following words: "We learned a lot from her, because she always saw the best in people, wanted to learn a lot and get on. She was honest, fair and had the courage to tell the truth, yet she was cheerful and light-hearted. She was a person of initiative and wanted to make the world a better place. I remember her with gratitude, she enriched all our lives and gave hope and confidence to those around her until the end."
Support from REACT-EU
Many people helped to make Antonia's dream a reality. The NRW ERDF program also supported him as part of the response to the Covid-19 pandemic (REACT-EU) - with the planting of 203 trees in urban areas. These new tree plantings further enhanced the city's parks and cemeteries, as these areas in particular serve as important local recreation areas for the population. You can find out more about the project and the REACT-EU funding program in episode 6 of the podcast series "Zukunft. Making".
