2015

Exploring and testing proficiency in forest restoration

Winners of the Agriculture Ministry's traditional competition "Mūsu mazais pārgājiens 2015" ("Our Little Hike 2015") were honoured at the "Iepazīsties – koks!" ("I Would  Like to Introduce  You to the Tree!") forest industry exhibition in Riga-Mezaparks on November 4. Among them were schools with the Mammadaba Master Class. In order for the winners to prove their knowledge, gained by exploring the forest and wood products, industry specialists organised various work stations on this day.

The participants were highly interested in the tree planting station of JSC "Latvia's State Forests". They were able to ask questions about forests in Latvia, solve a crossword puzzle, and, according to restoration requirements of young forest plantations, plant fir-tree seedlings in a specially made, improvised forest.  The students with a sure hand conducted the task.

During the awards ceremony, Agriculture Minister Janis Duklavs thanked all teachers and students for their active involvement in the competition: "As an agriculture minister, I am grateful that you were able to see both the forest's economic value, which is one of the economic pillars of Latvia, and also the forest's contribution to your city and county, its contribution to the community, to each one of you."

The minister praised the research into the impact a forest has on county, region, city, and Latvia overall. With huge interest, the minister also observed and participated in the LVM workshop, and lauded the students' practical knowledge in forest planting and management.

The "Mūsu mazais pārgājiens 2015" competition’s motto for this year is "The Forest Is  Our Treasure!".

 "Mūsu mazais pārgājiens", for the ninth year already, is organized by the Agriculture Ministry. This year, a total of 190 collectives submitted their works – 61 entries in group of 1st-4th grade students, 52 in group of 5th-9th grade students, 12 in group of 10th-12th grade students and vocational education institutions, and 65 in group of educational interest groups and youth associations.