WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A giant plastic palm tree that had become an artistic symbol of Warsaw has “died” as part of a stunt to raise awareness about climate change.

Local residents were surprised this week to discover that the leaves of the popular tree had turned grey and were drooping, sparking an uproar on social media.

“I wondered what happened and found out on the Internet that this is against air pollution and for the environment,” said Bogusia Niegocka, a 42-year-old saleswoman.

“This is a very good step, but I’m not sure it will really make people think. Everyone wants to drive into the city,” she said on Friday at the roundabout where the tree stands.

Artists Joanna Rajkowska and the Museum of Modern Art had the tree installed on a traffic island in the city centre in 2002. This week they replaced the green leaves with lifeless grey ones to draw attention to the threat that civilisation poses to the environment and to Warsaw’s smog.

“I have this fear, but also a feeling of disillusionment that people allow themselves to do such stupid things (that threaten the environment) in the name of short-term political interests or economic expansion,” Rajkowska told the daily Gazeta Wyborcza. “The dead palm tree is a sign of that.”

The move came on the occasion of the UN World Environment Day on Wednesday.

Among those who praised the idea of ​​”killing” the tree to warn about the effects of climate change on Friday was Ola Kania with her four-year-old son Jas.

“I showed my child the tree and said that’s what everything will look like if people don’t take better care of the planet,” she said.

Rajkowska said the green leaves would eventually be restored.