News

The Skagfirðingar Forestry Association will hold its annual general meeting on Friday, April 11th at 5 PM, which will be held in Miðgarður.

Agenda:

1. Opening of the meeting
2. Election of meeting chair and secretary
3. Board’s report
4. Association’s financial statements
5. Membership fee
6. Amendments to bylaws
7. Election of board members
8. Election of financial auditors
9. Other items

At the end of the meeting, staff from the Icelandic Forestry Association will give short presentations. Jón Ásgeir Jónsson, forester, titles his presentation „Among the Trees“ and Ragnhildur Freysteinsdóttir, environmentalist, will discuss Yrkja – the youth fund for land cultivation.

Coffee and light refreshments will be served.

The annual general meeting of the Eyfirðingar Forestry Association will be held at Hótel Kjarnalundur on Tuesday, April 1st at 19:30.

In addition to the usual annual meeting proceedings, Sigurður Arnarson will give a brief presentation on the work of Jón Rögnvaldsson, who was the first chairman of the association after its founding on May 11, 1930. The presentation is a prelude to a more comprehensive study that Sigurður is working on, titled „Mikilhæfur leiðtogi á sviði skrúðgarðyrkju og skógræktar“ (A highly capable leader in the field of horticulture and forestry).

The Annual General Meeting of the Akranes Forestry Association will be held at Stúkuhúsið on Monday, March 31, 2025, at 6 PM.

Agenda

1) Opening of the meeting. Election of meeting chair and secretary.

2) Minutes from the last annual general meeting.

3) Annual report of the Association.

4) Financial statements 2025.

5) Membership fee.

6) Amendments to bylaws – no proposal has been received.

7) Elections.

Intermission – Refreshments

8) Other items– including main projects of the association. –

Project list

• Planting
• „Field of mud“ by the containers in Slaga. Planting, sowing grass seeds, etc.
• The new nursery and activity area in Slaga.
• Community containers in Slaga. Interior fittings, finishing.
• Construction work – including path making
• Líf í lundi / Life in the Grove
• Other gatherings and walks – what’s the best way to reach people, promote the association and encourage participation

The annual general meeting of the Hafnarfjörður Forestry Association will be held on Thursday, April 3rd at 8:00 PM in Apótekið, Hafnarborg, Strandgata 34. Entry from Strandgata.

8:00 PM – 8:50 PM

• Regular meeting proceedings.

Coffee break

9:10 PM – 9:45 PM

• Þorsteinn Tómasson, plant geneticist, will give a lecture titled „Rauða genið og kynbætur birkis“ (The red gene and birch breeding).

See more on the Association’s website: skoghf.is and Facebook page.

The Forestry Encouragement Award 2025 was given at a ceremony in Kvikan, the cultural center of Grindavík, on the International Day of Forests, March 21st.

This is the second time the Award has been given. The Award is presented given annually to individuals, groups, companies, associations, or institutions that have worked selflessly for the cause of forestry in Iceland. The aim of these awards is to encourage forestry enthusiasts to continue their work and to draw attention to the diverse and valuable forestry efforts being carried out across the country.

Nominations for the Award were called for in January. A total of 20 nominees were received, from which a jury selected three candidates for online voting. The result of the vote was that Pálmar Örn Guðmundsson, chairman of the Grindavík Forestry Association, received the most votes and thus wins the Award this year.

The ceremony began with an address by Ásrún Kristinsdóttir, president of the Grindavík town council, who welcomed guests and briefly described the current situation in the town. Next, Hjörtur Bergmann Jónsson, chairman of the forestry farmers’ division at the Icelandic Farmers’ Association, took over and formally presented the award to Pálmar. As a prize, Pálmar received two beautiful bowls made of Icelandic birch, crafted by artisan Trausti Tryggvason, who is also the former chairman of the Stykkishólmur Forestry Association.

Pálmar has, on his own initiative, carried out important and selfless promotional work for forestry in Iceland through his YouTube channel Skógurinn (The Forest), where he has covered various aspects of forestry – individual tree species, forests, and forestry entities such as nurseries. Despite his hometown and the forests of the Grindavík Forestry Association being damaged due to the volcanic eruptions on the Reykjanes peninsula in recent years, he has not let it discourage him. All work on the videos is done by him alone without the involvement of others. With his sincere and contagious passion for forests and nature, Pálmar sparks interest in anyone who discovers his videos, and it is particularly praiseworthy how diligent he has been in adding English subtitles to the videos, so that more people can enjoy them.

The awards are sponsored by the Icelandic Forestry Association, Land og skógur (Land and Forest), and the Icelandic Farmers’ Association (forestry farmers’ division).

Pálmar Örn Guðmundsson, recipient of the Forestry Encouragement Award 2025. Photo: EB

The office of the Icelandic Forestry Association will be closed on March 25-29, as the staff will be attending the annual Icelandic Forestry Conference in Hallormsstaður. We’ll be back on Monday March 31st, full of new knowledge!

If you know a person or people who are doing really good things within forestry and deserve encouragement – please submit a nomination!

The Icelandic Forestry Association wishes you a Merry Christmas!

The second issue of Skógræktarritið 2024 – the Journal of the Icelandic Forestry Association – has now been published. The journal covers the various aspects of forestry. Among other things this issue has articles about the Tree of the Year 2024, the type and value of forest edges, what can be read from the snow in the forest, the Icelandic aspen, the annual meeting of the Icelandic Forestry Association and the main forest statistics for 2023.

Skógræktarritið is the only regular journal on forestry in Iceland and the main platform for writing by Icelandic foresters and others interested in the various aspects of forestry. The Forestry The journal is published twice a year and is sold in subscription. Subscription can be made by contacting the Icelandic Forestry Association at 551 8150 or by sending an email to skog@skog.is. Both traditional and electronic subscription are available.