Education and Science, Good for Business, Latvia, Markets and Companies, Woodwork

Forest expeditions are an exciting adventure in forest, where in ten exploratory stations students get acquainted with the forest management cycle, look at the forest from a forestry point of view together with LVM experts, as well as perform a number of practical tasks, such as measure the height of trees, determine the age of young stands, identify the presence of wood in everyday objects, get to know forest pests and understand the need for light in the forest much better. Joint construction of a wooden bridge without using any additional fastenings is one of the students' favourite tasks.

“The expeditions have emerged in response to the schools' great interest in forests, their restoration and tending. Once upon a time, these were the Forest Days, when groups of students came to forest to plant a new forest. Then it became clear to the participants that the most important thing was not the size of restored areas, but the involvement and interest of people in the forest and the work to be done in it. The main task was to address the public, an opportunity to show how the Latvian forests grow. We have borrowed many valuable ideas for implementing the expeditions from our Finnish state forest colleagues, giving children an opportunity to be in forest, in nature and learn something new,” says Vilnis Turks, LVM Vidusdaugava Region Senior Planner and one of the creators of LVM expeditions.

The feedback received from students and teachers shows that the majority of expedition participants now want to go to forest more than once a week! The main benefits of LVM Forest Expeditions pointed out by the participants:

• An opportunity to explore forest through practical activities and teamwork in the fresh air;
• An opportunity to ask questions. Camp-fires. Observance of precautionary measures;
• Thoughtful teamwork;
• Practical work and acquisition of new knowledge on forest management and tending;
• A wonderful connection with subjects of science.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIYSzY-rTX8&feature=emb_logo