02 • 05 • 2017
Finalists of LVM Forest Olympics Compete in Tērvete
Do we grow more forests than we cut down? Can you make lady tights out of wood? Which are pine seeds and which - spruce seeds? Finalists of LVM Forest Olympics, representing ten most active schools in Latvia, answered these and many other questions, as well as showed magnificent creative performances devoted to the relation between soap bubbles and forests. The finals of the competition took place in Latvia's State Forests Nature Park in Tērvete on 27 April.
In this year's Forest Olympics finals, teams had to compete in two stages: they took part in an active and cognitive orienteering competition, as well as presented creative performances. Out of 30 orienteering tasks, contestants found guessing riddles in Nature Park's Witch's Forest, cutting a birch-tree disc for it to weigh exactly to 400 grams, as well as recognising wood-containing products to be the most exciting challenges. These tasks, revealing the extensive options for the use of wood, were highly valued not by the school students but also by their teachers.
The jury, composed of Māra Mīkule, Senior Officer at the Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Forest, Forest Sector Strategy and Support Division, Līga Abizāre, LVM Communication Project Manager, Anda Sproģe, LVM Communication Specialist, Dagnija Lazdiņa, Senior Researcher at the Latvian State Forest Research Institute "Silava", Inese Liepiņa, Senior Officer at the National Centre for Education, and Mother Forest of LVM Nature Park in Tērvete, evaluated the creative performances prepared by the teams as a homework. The jury awarded points for team performances the task of which was to show relation between forests and soap bubbles, assessing teams' involvement and creative approach to the subject matter. Participants of LVM Forest Olympics had dressed this task in colourful costumes and catchy songs, showing that this topic can be acquired not only through reading textbooks.
This year, in a fierce battle, the 1st place and the main prize - a week-long foreign natural expedition in Austria - was awarded to the team "S!guldieši" representing grade 8 of Sigulda Primary School No. 1.
They were closely followed by the team of Aizpute Secondary School, who won the 2nd place and the team "Zīļotāji" representing Krāslava Primary School who ranked third, winning an opportunity for the whole class to go on an educational LVM Forest Expedition.
Vika Vasiļevska, biology teacher at Aizpute Secondary School, shares her impressions of the Forest Olympics: "It is so nice that the event took place in nature, and the questions were very intriguing. There was also some homework to do. This is the added value that children learn in preparation, and this knowledge lasts longer than things that are acquired in traditional classes. We follow LVM activities every year. This year, we participated in the LVM Bio-economy School contest. Basically, if a competition is organised by Latvia's State Forests, I know that care will be taken of all the details, and it will be a pleasant event for all."
Recognitions were also awarded to those who did not make it to the top three this year, but showed no less activity in the final competition stages: the 4th place was awarded to the team “Domājošie ķekatnieki” composed of 7th and 9th grade students of Nikrāce Primary School; the 5th place was given to the joint team “Meža skudras” of grades 7 and 8 of Irlava Secondary School in Tukums Municipality; the 6th place - to grade 7 of Carnikava Primary School, the 7th place - to the team “Meža gudrinieki” of Nikrāce Primary School; the 8th place was awarded to "Mežinieki", a team representing grade 8 of Jelgava Primary School No. 2; the 9th place - to the team "Mežači" from Sloka Primary School, while Aizkraukle Municipality Secondary School team "Cietie rieksti" ranked tenth.
It was the first year in the LVM Forest Olympics for Aizkraukle Municipality Secondary School, and it successfully made it to the top ten. Žanna Murahina, the teacher of the team, says that she had heard about the LVM Forest Olympics also last year, but she had not been able to raise students' interest about this competition.
"It's a good experience for students to work in a team, to see creative works made by others, as well as to experience the attitude. We will take it into account next year. Of course, also the venue of the event (LVM Nature Park in Tērvete) was wonderful, and we got acquainted with it from a completely different perspective," the teacher says.
While the jury went to summarise the results of the LVM Forest Olympics to determine this year's winning team, a thrilling surprise was prepared for the participants. Representatives of Curiosity Centre "Zili brīnumi" used impressive experiments to reveal the exciting side of science, and allowed the students to observe in practice the knowledge that they had acquired in classes.
LVM Forest Olympics is an annual event, which is organised by JSC "Latvia's State Forests" in collaboration with the National Centre for Education. It is organised to promote creative and healthy learning outdoors, as well as to raise school students' awareness of the Latvian largest renewable resource - wood.
In this year's LVM Forest Olympics school students were asked to think of a new outdoor educational game on the forest and to play it together with their classmates outdoors, using natural materials. The teams had to describe the rules of the game and create a one-minute long video guide, showing the course of the game. Ten best teams, chosen by the jury and Facebook users, participated in the finals of the Forest Olympics that took place in LVM Nature Park in Tērvete.
More information is available at www.mammadaba.lv/skolam section "Meža olimpiāde" (Forest Olympics).
