News

The Iceland Forest Service and the Soil Conservation Service of Iceland have joined forces and launched a campaign of seed gathering from birch. Everyone in Iceland is encouraged to go out and gather seeds from birch – they will then be dispersed in specially chosen areas all over the country.

From the middle of September a special collection box will be available at the Iceland Forest Service and the Soil Conservation Service offices, at Terra and at Bonus stores.

More information on the campaign is available at the website birkiskogur.is.

The Akranes Forestry Association will hold its General Meeting at Frístundamiðstöðin Garðavöllum in Akranes on Monday, September 28 at 20:00. On the agenda are regular meeting activities (annual report, accounts and elections) and discussion of the association’s activities.

One seat on the board is vacant and are members interested in taking part in the association’s activities encouraged to run for office.

The General Meeting of the Icelandic Forestry Association (IFA) was held in Reykjavík on September 5, in a meeting room of Arionbanki. The General Meeting usually spans three days, with lectures and field trips and the IFA member associations take turns hosting the meeting. In view of restrictions due to Covid a decision was made to change the format of the meeting. Only elected representatives of the member associations were invited, in order to carry out the necessary duties of the meeting, such as electing the board of the IFA and approving the annual accounts. Some of the delegates attended the meeting remotely.

Jónatan Garðarsson was re-elected as chairman of the IFA. Two new board members were elected; Nanna Sjöfn Pétursdóttir from the Bíldudalur Forestry Association and Berglind Ásgeirsdóttir, from the Suðurnesja Forestry Association. The vice board members – Kristinn H. Þorsteinsson, Valgerður Auðunsdóttir and Björn Traustason – were all re-elected. One resolution of the meeting was passed, on the use of biological control of forest pests.

Sigrún Stefánsdóttir (left) and Laufey B. Hannesdóttir (right) left the board of the Icelandic Forestry Association after serving on it for years and were given a bouquet with thanks from Jónatan Garðarsson.

The Icelandic Forestry Association and Samkaup signed a contract of collaboration on August 31 for the Opinn skógur (Open Forest) project.

The aim of the collaboration is to improve facilities and access to existing forests, including providing information on the ecosystem, nature and history of the forests, so the general public can use the forests for outdoor recreation. The contract secures funding for the project for this year and the next.

Open Forests currently number seventeen, all over the country.

Jónatan Garðarsson, chairman of the Icelandic Forestry Association and Gunnar Egill Sigurðsson, from Samkaups, sign the contract.

The Tree of the Year 2020 was formally nominated in a ceremony on Saturday, August 29 and this year the tree is an oakleaf mountain ash (Sorbus hybrida) at Skógar in Þorskafjörður, the first of this species to be nominated.

The ceremony began with an address from Jónatan Garðarsson, chairman of the Icelandic Forestry Association. Next to speak was Halldór Þorgeirsson, representing the Baháʼí community in Iceland who own Skógar and have grown the forest there.

Hafberg Þórisson from the Lambhagi Plant Nursery, who sponsors the Tree of the Year, then presented Böðvar Jónsson, as a representative from the volunteers who have planted trees at Skógar, with a diploma and then Hafberg and Böðvar unveiled a plaque marking the tree.

Next the tree was measured, by Jón Ásgeir Jónsson from the Icelandic Forestry Association and Björn Traustason, from the Iceland Forest Service. The tree turned out to be 5,9 m in height, with a diameter of 26,5 cm at knee-height and 17,3 cm at chest-height, where the tree had split into two trunks.

Böðvar Jónsson then lead a hike through the forest. The ceremony formally concluded with refreshments.

The Icelandic Forestry Association nominates a Tree of the Year each year.

The Tree of the Year 2020.

The Rangæingar Forestry Association holds its general meeting on Monday, June 29, starting at 20:00 at the Hella congregation hall, Dynskálar 8.

In addition to regular meeting activities Auður Ingibjörg Ottesen, editor and publisher of the journal Sumarhúsið og garðurinn, will hold a presentation.

Refreshments on offer, everybody welcome.

Líf í lundi (Life in the grove) is the heading for an outdoor recreation and family day in the forests of Iceland this weekend. Events on offer:

Selskógur (SW-Iceland), June 20, at 10:00-12:00

Gunnfríðarstaðir (N-Iceland), June 20, at 11:00

Eskifjörður (E-Iceland), June 20, at 12:00

Smalaholt (SW-Iceland), June 20, at 13:00-15:00

Seljadalsskógur (Westfjords), June 20, at 14:00-16:00

Álfholtsskógur (W-Iceland), June 20, at 14:00

Höfðaskógur (SW-Iceland), June 20, at 14:15-17:00

Æsustaðahlíð (SW-Iceland), June 22, at 19:30-21:30

Slaga (W-Iceland), June 22, at 18:00-20:00

More information each event is on the Skógargátt website (www.skogargatt.is) and the Líf í lundi Facebook-page – – https://www.facebook.com/lifilundi/

The first issue of the 2020 Journal of the Icelandic Forestry Association (Skógræktarritið) has been published and posted to its subscribers. The issue contains, as usual, a range of articles on diverse aspects of forestry, including path making with wooden slabs, bee cultivation, women and forestry in Vopnafjörður, a forestry field trip to S-Tyrol and memorial gardens, in addition to an article from the chairman of the Icelandic Forestry Association, in honour of the association’s 90 anniversary this year.

The cover picture is of a painting titled “Vigdís”, by Tryggvi Ólafsson, showing Vigdís Finnbogadóttir. Vigdís is an honorary member of the Icelandic Forestry Association and celebrated her 90^th birthday on April 15. It was therefore fitting that a picture of her adorns the cover of this issue, considering the turning point of Vigdís’s election as the first elected female president in the world, but this issue marks a turning point in the history of the Journal, as it’s the first issue in the Journal’s history, dating back to 1933, where the majority of article authors are women.

The Þórshöfn Forestry Association holds its annual general meeting on Tuesday, May 19, starting at 17:00, in the congregation hall of Þórshafnarkirkja.

The programme includes regular meeting activities.

The Forestry and Land Reclamation Association by the Glacier holds its annual general meeting on Sunday, May 17, in the meeting room of KG fiskverkun at Rif. The meeting starts at 16.