2017

LVM Nature Park in Tērvete will Host the Foresters' Festival

Latvia's State Forests (LVM) Nature Park in Tērvete on Saturday, 18 February, from 13 to 16 will host the first Foresters' Festival. Visitors of all ages will have an opportunity to hew and saw, taking part in various activities together with the dwellers of the Fairytale Forest. Together with experienced forestry experts participants will be invited both to watch forest machines - harvesters - in action, as well as learn about the role of forest thinning, and other works done in the forest.

For the first time in Latvia, anyone interested will be able to see with their own eyes how forest thinning is carried out, as well as to observe, hear and "touch" a real harvester.  Trees will be overthrown, their trunks cross-cut and pruned, finished timber in the last stage of demonstrations will be delivered to the timber-yard. In the course of the festival, Kaspars Riže, LVM Senior Forest Expert, will tell about the role of thinning and other types of felling and will answer participants' questions. "Thinning helps to save space and ensures favourable growing conditions for the remaining future trees giving higher-value timber. Strongest and largest trees will be preserved, and they will produce more oxygen."

Representatives of the Forest Faculty of Latvia University of Agriculture will present different types of timber assortment or wood products: for production of boards, pulp, wood chips and other products. Visitors will have an opportunity to learn practical techniques to determine the height of a tree.

In turn, in the Dwarfs' Village, representatives of the Forest and Wood Products Research and Development Institute (MeKA) will offer the visitors to try out some practical tasks, for example, the forest machine simulator and see why harvester operators are often compared with aircraft pilots. In turn, in the Dwarfs' Workshop, dwarf daughters together with their mother will invite the participants to taste home-made spruce drink and pine bud tea.

When, guided by professionals, the visitors have explored the forest machine, in the Dwarfs' Town "Cones" there will be sports competitions together with fairytale characters, where participants will be given tasks to saw, hew and bark. There will be forest stories, works and, of course, the traditional foresters' porridge.

Entrance to the festival with Park tickets; for pre-school children and school students under 18 years of age - a free pass to the Foresters' Festival. The Fairytale Train will take visitors free of charge to the site of harvester demonstrations. For the bravest Park visitors, there will be a friendly offer for the Skyways of Lucky Land adventure.