A message from the banks of the Salaca at the “Latvian Forest Days” in Tērvete

On 23 and 24 May, the annual environmental education event “Latvian Forest Days” took place in the JSC Latvijas valsts meži nature park in Tērvete, this year under the motto “My Latvia. My responsibility”. The aim of the event was to encourage visitors to think about their role in national security, well-being and the sustainability of forests.

The event brought together 15,600 visitors from all over Latvia. More than 100 discovery stations showed the diversity of the forest sector – from the basics of forestry to innovations in science and sustainable management.

The Latvian State Forest Research Institute Silava invited visitors to the station “Mala” (The Edge), which introduced ecologically important processes in Latvian landscapes – along forest edges, roadsides and waterside areas.

During the event, Mārcis Saklaurs, lead expert on riparian forests in the Life is Salaca project, talked about the importance of waterside areas – places where land and water ecosystems meet. He explained how these areas are studied and protected within the project, highlighting the ecological value of waterside areas and the importance of sustainability. Visitors to the station could get to know the diversity of riverside species – they were shown both in pictures and live, in special containers and flasks, which made it possible to look at riverside inhabitants up close.

The researchers Dagnija Lazdiņa, Toms Štāls, Austra Zuševica, Viktorija Vendiņa and Kārlis Dūmiņš from LSFRI Silava also worked at the “Mala” station, talking about forest edges and roadsides – habitats that are important for many rare and protected species.