11th December 2024

Christmas trees from national forests

Christmas tree sales are peaking in anticipation of the holiday season. The Jólakötturinn Christmas market will be held in Egilsstaðir this weekend, with Christmas tree sales in Vaglaskógur forest on Friday and Saturday. A subsequent Christmas fair in Haukadalsskógur forest, offering additional tree selection opportunities, will take place the following weekend. These events have proven to be popular and well-attended. Furthermore, recent weeks have witnessed significant activity in national forests, with considerable harvesting of both outdoor and domestic trees.

10th December 2024

Faroese high school students get training in ecosystem restoration

Ms. Iðunn Hauksdóttir, a Land and Forest Iceland specialist, recently presented at a Faroe Islands nature conservation conference hosted by Vestmanna High School. The school's students have received ecosystem restoration training and participated in related land rehabilitation projects.

9th December 2024

More than a thousand tons of meat meal

Bone meal distribution in Árnes and Rangárvallasýsla counties' land reclamation projects has proven successful this year, covering 736 hectares. In select areas, birch seed was incorporated with the bone meal to accelerate reclamation.

6th December 2024

Call for a new National Gift

A recent symposium commemorating the "National Gift" initiative concluded that a new National Gift is required to support land reclamation, ecosystem restoration, and expanded forestry initiatives.

5th December 2024

Grants for protection against water erosion

Land and forest Iceland is calling for applications for grants to protect against land erosion caused by inland watercourses. The application deadline is 1 February 2025.

26th November 2024

School children from Sunnulækjarskóli deliver birch seeds

A substantial quantity of birch seeds were gathered in various regions of Iceland during the autumn season as part of Land and Forest Iceland's campaign to collect and sow birch seeds. This initiative provided an opportunity for school groups to engage in outdoor learning experiences. Recently, a group of students from Sunnulækjarskóli in Selfoss visited the Land and Forest Iceland Selfoss office to deliver the birch seeds they had diligently collected in the local area throughout the autumn.

25th November 2024

The National Gift 50 Years

A symposium will be held at the Nordic House in Reykjavik on December 5th to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Icelandic parliament's approval of a special budget for the National Gift project. This project was created to address the decline in vegetation and soil erosion that Iceland has experienced since human settlement.

20th November 2024

Do not delay planting of frozen stored seedlings for too long

It is necessary to look at the relationship between the production processes of forest seedlings nurseries and planting success in afforestation. The later frozen stored seedlings are planted, the more likely they are to fail to form frost hardiness and be subject to damage in the same fall. This is among the research findings discussed in a reviewed article published recently in the scientific journal Forests. The main author of the article is Rakel J. Jónsdóttir, a forester and a postdoctoral researcher at Land and Forest.

19th November 2024

Carbon Trading Opportunities: A Comprehensive Proposal

A specialised working group, commissioned by the Minister of Environment, Energy, and Climate, has submitted proposals concerning the current state and potential opportunities for carbon unit trading in Iceland. These proposals entail legislative modifications that are crucial for the efficient operation of the voluntary market for carbon units. The group's recommendations encompass the formulation of state policies, the implementation of fiscal incentives, and the establishment of a dedicated trading platform for carbon units.

15th November 2024

Skemman in Víðidalur in the mountains fell in a storm

The sole remaining structure at the abandoned Víðidalur farm in the Fjöll region of Northeast Iceland succumbed to the recent storm on Wednesday. This corrugated iron-clad wooden building served as a temporary shelter for sheep during the autumn sheep-gathering season. Moving forward, a roofless enclosure will be utilised at the location instead. The debris from the collapsed structure has been largely cleared away, ensuring that any remaining building materials are secured against further dispersal.