With the aim to improve air quality and renew timber resources, 1000 new spruces were planted in the territory of the regional waste management centre “Daibe” last week-end. Planting of new spruce trees is a joint contribution of local waste management company “ZAAO”, official dealer of car air fresheners WUNDER-BAUM in Latvia – company “Getz Nordic”, and “Valmiera SOS Children’s Village” in the environmental initiative “100 Works for Latvia” dedicated to centennial of Latvia.

Thanks to the support of producer of car air fresheners WUNDER-BAUM, the new spruce forest is a symbolic fee of car drivers to nature so that at least a little compensate the harm caused to it by car emissions. Data of the “World Wide Fund for Nature” show that transport is the second largest cause of environmental pollution in Latvia. The greater air pollution is, the more trees are required to absorb this pollution. A spruce forest of average area can produce 350 tons of oxygen in approximately 50 years or 7 tons a year. Spruce is the second most popular tree species with the help of which forests in Latvia are being renewed, according to information of “Latvia’s State Forests”. It is important to know also that a tree produces oxygen only while it is growing, namely, a ripe forest does not produce oxygen any more.

“Many inhabitants of Latvia know what a “loan” is, they also know how easy it was to receive one and how difficult and long it takes to repay it. However, this is exactly what we are doing with nature in Latvia – we borrow easily, hoping that we will not need to repay this debt. 50 million new trees are planted in our forests every year – seems many? Yet, it is easy to calculate that each inhabitant of Latvia plants only 25 trees a year. We challenge you to plant 1000! One thousand spruces for each – it is a fortune. And it is not only the timber in 50 years that we are talking about here, or oxygen that these spruces will produce. Everyone who would do such a work would change their attitude towards nature. This way we could repay our debt so that Latvia was a state of power not only in terms of culture, but also natural resources,” invites Simons Kozlinskis, Member of the Board at “Getz Nordic”.

“To take care of the nature and decorate our surroundings – “ZAAO” invites every inhabitant of Vidzeme to do it while preparing for the celebration of 100th anniversary of our country. 1000 new trees and fresh air is a great example of a present that we can give to Latvia and our-selves,” emphasizes Aivars Sirmais, Chairman of the Board at “ZAAO”.

As already announced, local waste management company “ZAAO” has begun an environmental initiative “100 Works for Latvia” while preparing for the centennial of Latvia, with the aim to combine ideas, resources and workforce of people of Vidzeme so that at least 100 notable works in cleaning and improving of the environment, as well as in environmental education were jointly performed in Vidzeme until 18 November 2018. Already 26 local governments of Vidzeme have responded to the environmental initiative and are ready to cooperate.