St. Nicholas’ Day in the Eco-trees forest. Great fun and lots of creative ideas | Gdańsk University of Technology

On 6 December, from 9:00 a.m., in the Hevelius’ Courtyard construction and decoration works were underway. Constructions were welded, hot-glued, cut out and carved. More than two hundred participants let their imagination run wild, resulting in a unique Eco-trees forest.

After the ceremonial meeting of the Senate, during which awards and distinctions were presented to the academic community, we all met in the square in front of the Main Building. Christmas songs were played, DJ-Santa Claus appeared with a Christmas list of hits that could be dedicated to co-workers and colleagues, and there were long queues for gingerbread cookies and hot drinks. There was also a St. Nicholas’ Day competition with prizes and a special wheel of fortune, where volunteers tested their knowledge of Christmas customs from around the world.

At 1 p.m. the presentation of Christmas tree designs and audience voting began. Each participant of the Gdańsk Tech St. Nicholas’ Day could only vote for one tree, and the choice was extremely difficult. The Rector's College had an equally difficult task and, together with Piotr Borawski, vice-president of Gdańsk for entrepreneurship and climate protection, debated the verdict for a long time.

The most public votes in the form of nuts were received by Cheminka - a project of the Faculty of Chemistry.

– Many people from our department were involved in the creation of Cheminka, in developing the design, but also in searching for decorations – said Agata Sommer, PhD, who took part in the construction. – We are very happy that the audience appreciated our ingenuity and execution.

Rectors and President Borawski voted for Eco-tree created by the Education Office.

– We wanted to create real handicrafts out of paper – said Agnieszka Armatyńska. – We discussed how to display all the decorations we had created, and we used paper rolls and cardboard tubes on which the carpets are rolled up. The triangular frame was created in the polytechnic carpentry workshop. Our Christmas tree was created with the message in mind that Eco-trees will not change anything if we do not put love, kind words, a helping hand and tenderness under them, which is why such symbolic gifts lie under our tree. This is the essence of the idea of holidays that guided us when creating our project.

At the end of the meeting, prof. Krzysztof Wilde, Gdańsk Tech Rector, wished the entire academic community a happy St. Nicolas’ day, Merry Christmas and the upcoming New Year. Wishes from the Gdańsk authorities were conveyed by Vice President Piotr Borawski.

– On behalf of the city authorities, I would like to thank you, first of all, for coming up with such a fantastic idea that is in line with the times and sustainable development goals – said the Vice=President. – Please accept our warmest Christmas wishes, lots of health, happiness and prosperity, so that our city can live well and in balance. All the best!

The Rector's College, impressed by the creativity and commitment of all teams, decided to award an additional prize to each of the Eco-trees creators. These are vouchers for the Hydrostacja restaurant, worth PLN 30 (to be used until the end of the year), which will be available for collection at the Gdańsk Tech Store by group leaders from Monday, 12 December. However, the most important thing was having fun together, friendly competition and extraordinary creativity, and above all, time spent together with a smile.

Please see the photo report.