News

The Icelandic Forestry Association offers its heartfelt congratulations to Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, who turns 90 years old today.

Vigdís has been one of the most prominent proponents of forestry and land reclamation in Iceland, both during her presidency and later. For her contribution to forestry Vigdís was made an honorary member of the Icelandic Forestry Association in 1984 and she has always contributed to the Association – been a regular attendee at the Association’s annual general meetings and shown up for those events and works the Association has called her to, always with a smile. The forestry sector in Iceland can be very grateful for having her as part of the team.

Those who wish to honour Vigdís on this occasion can contribute to the Vigdís Finnbogadóttir Institute Fund (https://vigdis.hi.is/en/stofnunin/styrktarsjodur/).

The Icelandic Forestry Association also celebrates this year, but the Association will turn 90 on June 27.

The Hafnarfjörður Forestry Association holds its general annual meeting on Thursday April 2nd at Apótekið, Hafnarborg, Strandgata 34. The meeting starts at 20:00. A proposal for amending the association‘s bylaws regarding its board will be presented.

Following regular meeting activities the association offers coffee refreshments, followed by a presentation by the product designer Sóley Þráinsdóttir, titled „Forest produce and cleaning products“.

The Icelandic Forestry Association, in collaboration with Lambhagi, will nominate a Norway spruce (Picea abies) at Elliðaárhólmi as the Tree of the Year 2019. A nomination ceremony will be held on Monday, October 14 at 13:30.

Dagur B. Eggertsson, mayor of Reykjavík and Jónatan Garðarsson, the chairman of the Icelandic Forestry Association will give an address, as well as a representative of the sponsor. Lára Rúnarsdóttir will perform music, a certificate will be presented to the city of Reykjavík, a sign marking the tree unveiled and the tree measured. Reykjavík Energy will offer coffee and kleinur for guests.

This is the first time that a Norway spruce has been nominated as the Tree of the Year.

The Hafnarfjörður Forestry Association hosts a mushroom-picking walk through Höfðaskógur on Tuesday, September 17, starting at 17:30. The walk is guided by the natural scientist Helena Marta Stefánsdóttir. The walk starts at the western end of lake Hvaleyrarvatn.

Bring a basket (or paper bag), knife and a book on mushrooms, if you have one.

A new forestry association, the Þórshöfn Forestry Association, was accepted this week as a member of the Icelandic Forestry Association. The Þórshöfn Forestry Association was formally founded on August 29, 2019 and its first chairman is Eyþór Atli Jónsson.

The Icelandic Forestry Association extends its warmest welcome to its newest member and wishes it all the best in the future!

The 2019 General Meeting of the Icelandic Forestry Association starts on Friday, August 30^th and runs through Sunday. This year the meeting is held in Kópavogur and hosted by the Kópavogur Forestry Association, which celebrates it’s 50^th anniversary this year.

The meeting starts on Friday morning. In addition to regular meeting activities the meeting will include lectures and field trips.

Further information on the meeting is on the Icelandic Forestry Associations website (here) and news from the meeting will be posted on the Icelandic Forestry Association’s Facebook– and Instagram pages.

The Icelandic Forestry Association office will be closed on August 1-2 as all staff are on vacation or working outside. If you need to reach a staff member send an e-mail or call their mobile. E-mails and phone numbers are listed under Our people.

The Reykjavík Forestry Association will host its annual Forestry Games on Saturday, July 6, between one and five o‘clock.

Foresters will compete in various forestry sports, such as debranching, tree felling, axe throwing and more.

Various other activities will be on offer, for the entire family – whittling instructions, demonstrations of dyeing with plants, tree climbing, carving sculptures with a chainsaw and forging, a guided walk through the forest, axe throwing and a sorceress in a teepee!

Guests can also bake bread over an open fire and there will be refreshments on offer – a BBQ, kettle coffee and more.

The Forestry Games are on Instagram: skograektarfelagreykjavikur and on Facebook.

Líf í lundi (Life in the grove) is the heading for an outdoor recreation- and family day on June 22 in forests all over the country. This will be the second year this day is celebrated and its goal is to get the general public outside and enjoying the forests and all they have to offer.

The day is a collaboration of the key players in Icelandic forestry – forestry associations, the Iceland Forest Service and forest owners – in collaboration with other organisations.

More information on events on the day will be on the Skógargátt website (www.skogargatt.is) and the Líf í lundi Facebook-page  – https://www.facebook.com/lifilundi/

A new agreement on the Land Reclamation Forest project was signed on Monday, February 11. The agreement ensures the governments continued support for the project, whose aim is to re-establish forest and vegetation cover on sparsely vegetated land, in order to reclaim ecosystems, increase biological diversity and provide recreation opportunities for the general population.

Guðmundur Ingi Guðbrandsson, the Minister for the Environment and Natural Resources and Jónatan Garðarsson, Chairman of the Icelandic Forestry Association, signed the agreement, along with Árni Bragason, the director of the Soil Conservation Service of Iceland and Aðalsteinn Sigurgeirsson, on behalf of the Iceland Forest Service, but the Soil Conservation Service and Forest Service will provide technical supervision of the project.

The Land Reclamation Forests project was launched in 1990, to mark the 60th anniversary of the Icelandic Forestry Association, as a collaboration of the forestry associations in Iceland, the Iceland Forest Service, the Soil Conservation Service and the Ministry of Agriculture.

The new agreement is in effect for the next five years and stipulates an annual contribution of 45-55 million ISK per year, or a total of 260 million ISK over the five years.

From left: Jónatan Garðarsson, Chairman of the Icelandic Forestry Association, Aðalsteinn Sigurgeirsson, of the Iceland Forest Service, Guðmundur Ingi Guðbrandsson, Minister for the Environment and Natural Resources and Árni Bragason, director of the Soil Conservation Service of Iceland, at the signing (Photo: BJ).