Anderlecht (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Author Lize Spit and neighbors in Anderlecht’s Luchtvaartsquare worked together to plant 6 trees, gaining support from residents and local officials to make their street greener and friendlier.
As VRT News reported, Author Lize Spit, known for her popular book Het Smelt and its movie version, took part in a project to make her neighborhood in Anderlecht greener. She lives on Luchtvaartsquare and worked together with people from her street.
To get ideas and involve more neighbors, she put up posters asking for suggestions on how to add more plants and trees nearby. Many people saw the posters and showed interest. They signed up to help with the plan. Lize Spit and her neighbors worked together to plant 6 new trees on their street.
“I wanted to be sure the plan was supported by the neighborhood,”
says the author.
“If, for example, the businesses aren’t on board, it’s already difficult. Fortunately, the town hall was packed with interested parties during the first meeting.”
How did Lize Spit and Neighbour transform Luchtvaartsquare with 6 new trees?
The people living on the street, including author Lize Spit, worked together to find ways to add more green to their neighborhood. They talked about many ideas and finally chose to plant 6 new trees along the street.
Everyone had a chance to share their thoughts and listen to others. When it was time to decide, most people agreed to the tree plan. Because many residents supported it, the local government, including the mayor and aldermen, approved the idea.
Lize Spit said it feels very good to see people working well together. She believes that planting trees with neighbours helps bring people closer and shows that many want a better environment. She added that making the neighbourhood greener does not need much money if everyone joins in and helps.
In Brussels’ Saint-Gilles neighbourhood, residents also joined forces to plant trees and create small green spaces along their streets. Like in Anderlecht, locals held meetings to share ideas and worked with the city council to get approval.
