„Lithuania currently has a forest cover of 33.7%, and we are working hard to ensure that this percentage continues to grow. The National Forest Planting initiative is not only about increasing the forest area but also about allowing volunteers to see up close how much effort it takes to form a forest and how important it is to protect and conserve it. We are delighted that more and more companies are willing to join this meaningful work every year,“ says Valdas Kaubrė, director-general of VMU.
„Our group companies participate in the National Forest Planting on a regular basis, but this year we wanted to start a new SBA tradition, where over one day, on one hour, employees of all companies, together with their families, meet and plant trees in their own regions. We want volunteering to become an important part of our everyday life, so I believe that this new and meaningful initiative will inspire other businesses to devote at least one or even two days a year to planting and maintaining forests,“ says Jolanta Grašienė, vice president of the SBA Group.
In the Švėkšna forestry district of the Klaipėda County, 65 SBA Group volunteers planted 2.5 hectares and more than 11,000 trees – pine, spruce, birch. In Vaišvydava village, Kaunas district, 85 volunteers replanted 1.2 hectares of forest – 3,000 trees. As a result, in Kaunas, a 1,500-tree oak grove and a 1,500-tree spruce grove will start to grow.
Growing a forest requires great effort
150 employees from SBA companies all over Lithuania, from Visaginas to Šilutė, Raseiniai, Vilnius, Utena, Kaunas, Klaipėda, joined in planting forests in the Klaipėda and Kaunas regions. According to Ramūnas Juodvalkis, a specialist in silviculture at the State Forest Service Dubrava Regional Park, the most common trees planted are 1-2-year-old trees.
„Planting with volunteers is just the beginning of a forest. It is also very important to protect conifers from forest animals – for roe-deer, deer and elk, the seedlings are a real delicacy. That’s why saplings are treated with special repellents. After a year, we go back to the forest and replant the trees that didn’t make it. This is followed by seven years of intensive maintenance – sometimes weeding, removing bushes and low-value tree species such as aspen, whitethorn and others,“ says Mr Juodvalkis.
Up to 20 years old, the forest is still called a coppice, during which time it is thinned. This is done in both the 30-50 and 60-70 year periods. Interestingly, a coniferous forest becomes mature only after 101 years. For example, spruce trees „mature“ at 71 years, pines at 101 years and oaks at 120 years. So the forest planted by the SBA volunteers will be cared for even by our great-grandchildren.
Towns and communities will be brought together for volunteering initiatives
According to J. Grašienė, the forest planting was also the symbolic beginning of the already traditional SBA volunteering wave. Continuing the initiative launched in 2021, the group has set an ambitious goal of organising at least 10 volunteering campaigns in the cities where it operates, mobilising at least 1,000 volunteers and dedicating at least 10,000 hours to good deeds by the end of the year.
„The wishes and goals are ambitious, but we are responding to the current situation and have no doubt that this year will see volunteering in Lithuania reach unprecedented heights. Uniting at different levels – from family members to business organisations and communities – will be more important than ever. Of course, we are all helping those affected by the war in Ukraine, but it is also important not to forget those who needed help before the war. That’s why our staff is already considering volunteering initiatives to create kindness for all, and we will invite citizens, communities and businesses to join in,“ says J. Grašienė.
