Colombians at LLU international summer school learn about wood life cycle
From July 8th to July 18th, LLU Lifelong Education Centre organizes an international summer school "Cycle of life - from tree seeds to high quality organic wood products". This year members of LLU Forest Faculty in cooperation with researchers from the Latvian State Forest Research Institute "Silava" will educate forest industry experts and students from different countries on forest and wood life cycle. The largest representation of the participants - 14 forestry specialists - will be from Colombia.
"Latvia is the fourth most silvan country in Europe, and today the forest sector is one of the main cornerstones of the country's economy. Historically, the intensive use of Latvian forests for economic purposes began relatively later than in many other European countries, therefore, extensive forest biodiversity has been preserved in Latvian forests. Taking into account that we are able to manage large forest areas, grow wood there and produce high quality organic products from them as well as preserve biodiversity in the forest, people from different countries want to learn from our experience," says one of the organizers of the summer school, professor of LLU Forest Faculty Uldis Spulle.
Participants of the international summer school will get acquainted with the process of wood processing and wood recycling from the beginning of forest breeding and reproduction, reforestation as well as with the process of wood processing and production of different wood products, and also the specifics of the forest sector in Latvia, traditions and natural values will be introduced to the participants.
Students from Uzbekistan, Greece, Mexico and China will attend summer school together with Colombian members of forestry.
Summer school activities will start on 9 July at 10.00 a.m. at Jelgava Palace, opened by the Rector of the LLU Irina Pilvere and Chairman of Jelgava City Council Andris Rāviņš. After that, a week-long cycle of lectures, practical classes, creative workshops and exploratory excursions in the forest and in various companies are planned. The official closing of the summer school is scheduled for 16 July at the Tervete Nature Park.
"Our foreign colleagues are interested in our university because we work in the field of forestry, in terms of quality wood growing, as well as in wood processing and the efficient use of wood, giving it a high added value. These two important pillars, on which the LLU Forestry Faculty is based on, allows us to be competitive as a center for the study and science of forestry in the international environment. Therefore, in the following years, we will make significant investments in the Faculty's study infrastructure, so that foreign colleagues and students would want to learn more from us," says Irina Pilvere, Rector of the Latvia University of Agriculture.
The international summer school is supported by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia, State Education Development Agency, Colombian Embassy in Warsaw, Latvia University of Agriculture, Latvian State Forest Research Institute "Silava", JSC “Latvian State Forests”, Forest and Wood Products Research and Development Institute and the Jelgava City Council.
The international summer school "Cycle of life - from tree seeds to high quality organic wood products" is the sixth this kind of activity organized by the LLU Lifelong Education Centre. Every year, summer schools have different themes and so far they have been more concerned with the landscape architecture and planning problems.
More information about Summer school.