Land and Forest Iceland
Lions members lead the way in birch seed collection
9th October 2025
It was drizzling lightly with a southerly breeze when a lively group of Lions Club members gathered at Kjalarnes on 30 September to take part in the national campaign Collect and Sow Birch Seed, formally launching this year’s effort. Although birch has produced relatively little seed in many parts of the country this year, there are still good spots where a fair amount can be gathered.
The campaign began in 2020 and is organised by Land and Forest Iceland. The project manager, Kristinn H. Þorsteinsson, introduced the initiative and explained how best to collect and sow birch seed before the group set off into the birch woodland to start gathering.
“Iceland’s goal with this campaign is that by 2030 birch woodlands will cover 5% of the country, compared with 1.5% today. It’s an ambitious and important task to expand birch woodland cover to 5%. It won’t be easy, and that’s why it’s vital to engage as many people as possible in reaching this target. The philosophy behind the birch project is participation-based, and the people who take part in this valuable work truly deserve our thanks,” said Kristinn.
Dagný Finnsdóttir, Environmental Officer for the Lions movement in Iceland, said the event had been an enjoyable experience. Although there was relatively little seed in the area — and in fact throughout the south-west in general — they found a number of trees laden with seed that yielded plenty.
“We came together from three clubs: the Lions Clubs of Mosfellsbær, Grindavík and Úa. We managed to collect tens of thousands of seeds and we’re not stopping there — seed gathering is now underway in many places around the country. We know there’s plenty of seed on trees in areas such as Vesturbyggð, along the eastern fjords, and around Hvammstangi, to name just a few. I learnt during this trip that even when it’s said there’s little seed overall, it’s often possible to find enough to fill a jar or more if you look carefully,” said Dagný, who expressed pride in her fellow members and gratitude to the company Villimey for its generous support and for providing facilities.
After the collection, the group came together to enjoy traditional Icelandic refreshments — "kleinur" and pancakes — and to warm up with coffee and cocoa.
