When a campaign turns into a community initiative: Students bring old phones and plant their own trees in the Forest of Heroes

Accompanied Eco School coordinator Sanja Miljanić, the girls handed in five old mobile phones for recycling at the One branch in Nikšić. Then they went to the platform Boranka.me drew their own trees, symbolically planted them in the virtual Forest of Heroes and gave each one a special name.

Their initiative shows that new generations have a strong sense of nature and understand that its preservation is our shared responsibility. For them, environmental protection is not just a school lesson, but an opportunity to make a concrete change through their actions.

“We are especially pleased when children themselves recognize the importance of nature protection and decide to act. Milica, Lea, Katarina and Andrea have shown that even small steps have great value when they are backed by a sincere desire and a sense of responsibility. It is important that we give children the opportunity to translate their values into action and thus build a greener future together,” she ordered Sanja Miljanić, Eco School Coordinator.

The “Recycle your old phone and plant your tree” campaign began on October 1. Citizens across Montenegro can hand in their old and unusable mobile phones at all One branches, and as a token of gratitude they receive boralice – charcoal pencils made from burnt trees. They can use them to draw their own tree and add it to the Forest of Heroes on the boranka.me platform, thereby becoming part of the initiative for the restoration of burned areas. Through Boranka’s activities, symbolic steps are continued in the real world – planting new seedlings.

“No planned PR or marketing move can replace the power of the moment when an action works on its own in the community. When girls themselves recognize its value, come together and bring old phones to our branch, you know that the project is no longer just a corporate initiative – it has begun to live among people. Through ‘One Tree Matters’ we want to contribute to the restoration of our forests, but also to encourage future generations to understand that nature is not someone else’s responsibility. The forest of heroes does not only grow in burned areas. It also grows every time someone decides to change something, instead of waiting for someone else to do it. That is precisely why these girls showed the essence of everything we want to achieve,” he said Srdjan Šišić, Executive Director of Corporate Affairs at One.

The story of four schoolgirls from Nikšić reminds us that a tree is important, but so are the people who decide to plant it. The One company invites citizens to follow their example, bring their old phones to the nearest One branch and join the common story “One Tree Matters”.

Those of Montenegro