2016

Visit, get to know and touch in LVM Forest days’ events

"Forest is growing, and so are we" is the slogan of Forest Days 2016 events to take place in many different places in Latvia. JSC "Latvian State Forests" (LVM) invites young and old forest friends to get to know and explore forest.

The main purpose of Forest Days is to demonstrate how LVM manages the state property entrusted to the company: how, why, when and how much is being done in the forest. "In this case it is not the amount of work done that is of key importance, it is people's involvement and interest in forest and the works that need to be accomplished. We are trying to talk to people, to show them how our forests are created," says Kaspars Riže, LVM senior forest expert, talking about the slogan chosen this year. Also historically Forest Days has had various inviting slogans such as "Go Green, Latvia!", "Learn More about Forest!" etc.

History of Forest Days

Forest Days has a long tradition. Its origins go back to the first period of Latvian independence, when the plan for planting and decoration work was developed at national level. More than 20 thousand people in 200 different places in Latvia took part in forest sowing, planting and maintenance works, in greening of public buildings, memorials, roads and country houses, as well as in specially organised thematic lectures and tours. The Forest Days’ events were coordinated with the assistance of the Central Forest Committee specially set up for this occasion, and in each parish there was a Forest Days’ Commission consisting of a forester, agronomist, teacher, gardener and school students. In order to involve more people, the events were attended by high-ranking officials, and President Kārlis Ulmanis was elected as the Protector of Forest Days. During the Soviet era spring clean-ups were organised, mostly for planting trees.

Restoring the Forest Days’ tradition, in the 1990s, together with school students President Guntis Ulmanis took part in forest planting activities. Forest clean-ups and educational seminars were held for forest owners explaining the importance of timely reforestation and maintenance of forest to have high-quality stands in future. Within the framework of the Forest Days’ activities the following works have been done: areas of non-agricultural land have been afforested, clearings - planted, landscape plantings have been created in populated areas, parks have been tidied up, the state border - planted with trees, ornamental trees and shrubs have been created and improved. In order to draw attention of young people to the processes taking place in forest, a number of educational activities, competitions, clean-ups were organised, participants could learn how to make a nest box, how to recognise secular trees, they could take part in competitions held in explorative forest trails.

"I remember that during my school years together with my classmates on a so to say voluntary - compulsory basis we had to go to the forest and plant trees. There were so many trees, it seemed that the area to be planted was inexhaustible! Later, during the Soviet era, I was the one to lead school students in the forest planting works. These were  the Forest Days of those times," recalls LVM expert Kaspars Riže, and is happy to see that today Forest Days has acquired a new meaning: it is no longer about teaching virtues, it is about forming knowledge and awareness of the processes taking place in the forest.

Planting for Experts

Every year more and more people take part in the Forest Days’ events, and also the public interest in growing new seedlings has been increasing. "Not all of the planted seedlings grow in successfully. For example, a pine seedling, that is cherished and tutored in our nurseries, requires special care and planter's experience. It is not so simple; therefore these activities are entrusted to professional service providers who take responsibility for their work. It is important for us that the seedling keeps growing also when planted in the vast forest, therefore symbolically we allow the Forest Days’ participants to plant a tree here and there, but afforestation of the forest areas is left in the hands of professionals," says the forest expert.

Practical Work

Our most enthusiastic forest friends are encouraged to participate in forest clean-up works resulting from irresponsible actions of people, as well as in improvement works of the rest areas.

The 235 Forest Days 2015 events were attended by a record number of participants - more than 8 thousand people took part, carrying out ambitious work, collecting 244 cubic meters of litter, setting up 920 nest boxes and restoring 118 hectares of forest.

Every year LVM invites schools and other nature friends to participate in the annual Forest Days’ events that take place in many different places all over Latvia. Visitors are welcome to attend the educational Forest Days' tours: school students can learn about forest management processes, set up nest boxes or take part in clean-up works, depending on the season of the year. During the school year 2015/2016 there will be 67 educational tours, of which more than 30 have already taken place. Information on how to apply for the open Forest Days events is yet to follow.