International Day of Forests
Celebrating my happy place.
March 21st is International Day of Forests! We are lucky enough to have great forests where we live, and many more within easy reach, it is where we spend a lot of time and they are my go-to when life is a little bit too stressful. Walking among the trees, smelling the woodland aromas, listening to the birds and breeze in the canopy is pure therapy for me whatever the weather.
The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed this day in 2012 to raise awareness and celebrate every kind of forest globally and increase efforts to protect and preserve them. Tree planting and outdoor activities involving forests, woodland and trees are encouraged by countries around the world on local, national and international levels.
The theme for the 2024 forest day is ‘Forests and Innovation: New solutions for a Better World’ highlighting deforestation and how new technology is helping with monitoring, mapping, tracking and reporting. With climate change now an undeniable (to most people) fact, forest day also helps drive home the importance of reforestation and ecosystem restoration as well as the use of sustainable wood products and food chain security.
It isn’t just about forests on a grand scale, anything we can do for trees in general is highlighted on forest day, even planting a tree - large or small in your garden, or helping to reduce paper consumption - another thing we can all do, by recycling and reusing. Simply going out and appreciating our trees, parks, woodlands and forests is free and easy…maybe hug a tree today!