Die Baumpflanzaktion: Mein Baum

Nature pure! My sister and I could observe many kilometers of healthy birch forests along the fjords and lakes in northern Norway, Sweden and Finland. In the far north of Europe, mainly these trees can grow since they have shallow roots. Due to the frost, even in summer, the earth only thaws to a maximum depth of 20 cm.

The forests are being cleared even in these northern latitudes, and this is most apparent in northern Finland. Hopefully, the indigenous Sami will not forget to re-plant their forests, otherwise their living environment will deteriorate drastically!

Young natural forests appear sporadically, but we could not observe any dedicated re-forestation efforts.

Surely the Sami people, deeply rooted in nature, will not forget to take care of their natural assets and look after the next generation!

Good friends sent me beautiful photos of healthy, green forests from their hikes in the Triebener Tauern area. They too are nature lovers, respect nature and share their experiences with other forest protectors.

Despite this, I can see from the photos the cleared forest areas and I am convinced that in former times, there were more trees on the slopes!

Our natural, water-rich forests should not be taken for granted! Our children and grandchildren should be able to drink clean, pure water!

Friedrich, who took these lovely photos, is also a forest protector. He can be contacted via his website: www.digitalimage.at. He also has a website “Friedrichs Gartenjahr” which he administers jointly with Gerald. My thanks go to these two nature lovers for providing the beautiful photos!

My wish:
All hikers/walkers should be able to enjoy an intact nature for a very long time and should pay attention to the importance of trees!

TIP: The active supporter group is growing!  Another committed tree protector is attempting to draw the attention of people to the importance of healthy forests at:  “Bäume sind unser Leben” (“Trees are our Life”).

Beautiful parts of the Hohe Tauern area:

Deceptive idyll:
On the drive to the Hohe Tauern area, we saw many freshly cleared slopes and hardly any dedicated re-forestation. Even very steep slopes were cleared making avalanches in the winter and landslides/slope slides in the summer inevitable – a man-made catastrophe!

From local TV news, I gathered that a dedicated re-forestation plan was being considered! It appears that the huge clearances are causing concern even to the local authorities!

TIP: More forests provide increased security and health for the population!
Healthy forests attract more tourists and employment opportunities!

TIP: Pay attention to the quality of life of future generations! Don’t forget our children and grandchildren!