A year and a half ago, Tallinn felled about a hundred elms infected with Dutch elm disease. The deadly fungus spread rapidly, especially in Kadriorg, but it is also a problem elsewhere in Estonia.

Now, for the first time in the Baltics, 85 healthy elms have been vaccinated. The syringe and the biological solution, Verticillium, have come from the Netherlands.

Arborist Arpo Põld said a huge needle is used to make a small hole under the tree's bark, and then the vaccine is injected and absorbed. This process is carried out repeatedly every 10 centimeters.

" It just has to go all the way around the tree, so that the whole layer beneath the bark, where the flows move both up and down, gets it," Põld added.

Estonian University of Life Sciences lecturer Liina Jürisoo said the shot is now a magic wand.

"The vaccine does not directly kill the Dutch elm disease pathogen, but it does provide some immunity. The Dutch say that 99 percent of vaccinated trees, if vaccinated in time, can have their lifespan extended by one season," she said.

The vaccinations have been taking place since the spring.

"Compared to last year, I saw more dead trees again. Several of them could probably have been saved if we had started vaccinations last year. All's well that ends well. At least we can now begin the process, and maybe Tallinn will set an example for other municipalities," said Jürisoo.

Vaccinating a single elm costs about €280, which experts say is still cheaper than cutting down a tree and growing a new one. The list of trees in need of the protective shot is about three times longer than the current list.

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