Choose your favourite Christmas tree

The student competition for the best UPWr Christmas tree is part of the "Christmas Tree of Good Thoughts" initiative. This initiative encourages the dedication of positive thoughts and wishes, which are particularly meaningful and fitting during the Christmas season. Wishes, symbolically placed on the tree in written form, can be supported with a donation to the Wrocław hospice for children, according to Dr. Ewa Podhajska from the Department of Landscape Architecture, who serves as the curator of the initiative.

Dr. Podhajska, who is leading the competition, oversees the artistic quality of the works, and manages the "Christmas Tree of Good Thoughts" event, also mentors the floristics section of the Student Scientific Club of Landscape Architecture, which played a pivotal role in driving the initiative. Organizational and substantive support was provided by student Justyna Horbowy. The student competition originated from a cultural desire to create decorations associated with Christmas.

– The focus of the competition is an object described as an inventive Christmas tree, merging traditional forms with innovative solutions. The task allowed for a creative approach, aligning with the expression of young people and connecting tradition with contemporary design thinking. While the standardized frameworks with the outline of a simplified Christmas tree pay homage to the traditional form, the ingenuity, and creativity of the students in filling them resulted in figures that resonate with modern trends, providing a platform for individual, authorial expression of young people – emphasizes Dr. Ewa Podhajska.

Christmas trees were crafted by teams, each giving them names with various Christmas associations, such as "Dried Fruit Compote." The jury awarded three distinctions to "Mystique of White," "Developer's Tree," and "Twister Christmas." In addition to vouchers worth PLN 200 for the winning creators, funded by Dean Prof. Beata Raszka, all three teams received books from the head of the Department, Prof. Katarzyna Tokarczyk-Dorociak, and the head of the Institute of Spatial Economy, Prof. Szymon Szewrański.

The competition, under the honorary patronage of the Vice-Rector for Student Affairs and Education, Prof. Damian Knecht, had a promising start and quickly gained attention from individuals associated with the Student Scientific Circle (SKN), including its board – Karolina Kelner and Daniel Okraj. It also received organizational support from the Student Affairs Center.

Students from SKN encourage voting for the audience's favorite Christmas tree – a QR code that can be scanned will be available on the poster in the CDN lobby. The code allows the selection of a specific number corresponding to the numbering adopted during the competition. Link to the survey

During the inauguration of the "Christmas Tree of Good Thoughts" initiative, Prof. Beata Raszkę emphasized her hope that the Christmas initiative will become a cherished tradition of the newly established faculty at the University of Environmental and Life Sciences in Wrocław, contributing significantly to the identity and integration of the academic community at UPWr.

– This means that we are already commencing preparations for next year's edition of the event – says Dr. Ewa Podhajska with a smile.