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Increasing Oxygen on the UN International Day of Forests

To mark the UN International Day of Forests on 21 March, JSC “Latvia's State Forests” (LVM) will present special Oxygen Packs with pine seeds to almost 600 school classes. The theme of this year's Day of Forests is “Forest and Sustainable Production and Consumption”, calling for the appreciation of wood and wood products as a sustainable and renewable natural resource.

To promote the understanding of the role of trees and wood products in the fight against global warming, this year LVM, in cooperation with the organization “Forestpedagogics – Environmental education” and JSC “Latvijas finieris”, has created a new educational tool called Oxygen Pack containing pine seeds, tutorials, climate balance games and other educational materials. The Oxygen Pack allows children to increase oxygen: to sow and grow their own trees, as well as to “catch” carbon by playing climate challenge games with pieces of wood.

By April 2022, each pre-school and primary school class participating in the LVM environmental education programmes “Mother Nature Master Class” and “Pigman’s Detectives” in the academic year 2021/2022 will receive the Oxygen Pack.

In cooperation with the Imants Ziedonis Foundation's “Viegli” educational initiative “Ziedonis’ Class”, children and young people were also invited to draw inspiration from Imants Ziedonis' “Green Tales” and to design oxygen stickers, revealing the role of trees and wood products in combating climate change. Almost a thousand creative works have been submitted so far. Entries will be assessed by 8 April, when the winners will be announced.

In Latvia, more than half of the country's territory is covered by forests, and it is our most important renewable resource, which also ensures Latvia's independence and sustainability. Over the last hundred years, forest cover in Latvia has doubled, whereas the timber stock has tripled. Intensive afforestation and maintenance help to combat global climate change, as young stands actively sequester carbon. Carbon sequestration continues when young trees are planted in place of old ones. One m3 of wood attracts a tonne of CO2. Wood is an excellent and attractive building material for both small and large structures. For more information, please visit www.skabeklis.lv