Around 90 volunteers from the Ukrainian community and local Cypriots cleaned, painted and replanted Odesa municipal park in Larnaca last Saturday, planting 44 trees and installing a commemorative plaque dedicated to the Alley of Friendship between Ukraine and Cyprus.
The event was organised by the Ukrainian Cultural Center Obiimy and the Ukrainian community of Larnaca in partnership with the Larnaca Municipality and Cypriot Plast and Scout organisations, as part of the European environmental campaign Cleaning Up Our European Home. The civic platform Strichka co-organised the clean-up with support from the International Renaissance Foundation. Participants travelled from Nicosia and Limassol as well as Larnaca. The Municipality and the Department of Forests supplied tree saplings, paint and other materials.
“I am proud of the Ukrainian community — for the first time in Larnaca, and in Cyprus overall, such an event is taking place, where the Ukrainian community helps the local community take care of a park named after the beautiful Ukrainian city of Odesa,” said Honorary Consul of Ukraine in Cyprus Christodoulos Ellinas. “These people came today not just for this event but also to lay the foundation for ongoing efforts to support this significant park in the city of Larnaca.”
“It is a great honour for the Municipality of Larnaca to take part in such events. Your dedication to this park demonstrates your love for Larnaca and Cyprus. We are proud that you are part of our community,” said Deputy Mayor Iasonas Iasonidis.
During the clean-up, participants also paused to commemorate the recent Russian attack on a maternity hospital in Odesa. The organisers and municipality agreed on further development of the park, including the construction of a sports ground, improvements to the children’s area, installation of flagpoles and a public restroom.
Cleaning Up Our European Home is a campaign active in ten European countries since November 2025, bringing together Ukrainians displaced by the war to clean parks, streets and waterfronts in the countries that have hosted them.
