The Geographic Arboretum of Tervuren is a hidden gem at the heart of the Sonian Forest near Brussels. Its collection includes 30,000 trees and shrubs over 120 ha, representing over 600 species originating in 80 different forest types of the northern hemisphere. The selected plants are grouped together in a manner that replicates the typical forest landscape of the region of origin.
In their new book about the Geographic Arboretum of Tervuren, the arboretum managers – Patrick Huvenne (former EFUF delegate), Kevin Knevels and Wilfried Emmerechts – share their know-how and passion. They guide us through the amazing diversity of forests in America, Europe and Asia. They explain the specialised problems of managing a living collection of this kind and outline the challenges of sustainable forest management in an era of climate change. Their texts are supplemented with a large number of maps, graphs and historical documents.
The book will be published in May 2020 and will be available for 40 EUR (in Dutch, French, English and German). A pre-sale offer at 35 EUR (free shipping included) is available for those who order their copy through info-at-arboretum-tervuren.be (mention name, address and prefered language).
Happy Christmas from the EFUF team! Our Christmas present to our followers is the extended deadline for submitting abstracts for the upcoming EFUF2020 conference in Manchester.
Please see our original post on the topics and requirements.
A dressed fir tree in the woods near Langsett reservoir (close to Manchester).
The 2020 European Forum on Urban Forestry invites researchers and urban forest professionals to submit abstracts for contributions. This includes – but is not limited to – applied as well as academic research, and perspectives/experience reports of professionals and practitioners. EFUF emphasizes the connection of practice and scientific knowledge, encouraging a variety of possible formats to contribute to the conference.
In 2020 we are encouraging contributions that explore the urban forest through three themes:
Theme 1: ‘Keeping cities cool and reducing flood risk’ – How our urban forests help to provide resilience, and what we can do to make them more adaptable to climate change and urban expansion
Theme 2: ‘The air we breathe, the water we drink and the way we feel’ – The role of the urban forest in meeting our basic life needs and addressing the challenges of physical and mental health
Theme 3: ‘Trees and urban design’ – How trees and GI are integral to the development of our towns and cities in creating places where people want to live, work and play and how forest products can help to reduce our carbon footprint.
We accept oral talks, posters and other non-commercial contributions. Abstracts (maximum 2500 characters including spaces) are only accepted in English language. They must not include figures, tables or attachment and should be related to one of the above themes. Deadline for submission is 1st of February 2020 (extended deadline).
The programme committee will determine whether a work will be accepted for presentation, considering the significance and/or the innovative character of the contribution. Authors will be informed on the acceptance of their contribution by the 21st of February 2020.
At least one of the authors should register for the conference, and should have their fee settled by 30 April 2020.
Attendance at EFUF 2020 is also an opportunity to learn more about the new Sino-Europe CLEARING HOUSE project which is exploring the role of urban forestry as a nature based solution. Key team members will be present to answer your questions and explain more about the four year project.
The Nature of Cities TNOC Summit will take place in Paris during 4-7 June 2019. Seed and skill sessions, paired dialogues, workshops and field trips are on the agenda of this international platform for transdisciplinary dialogue on urban solutions. The topics include inter-alia urban greening, ecosystem services provided by urban trees, smarter trees, green justice, participation and nature-based solutions.
TNOC Summit is all about sparking conversations for knowledge exchange and collaborative networking. It aims to build a movement for green cites where resilience, sustainability, health, livability, and environmental justice are addressed. As such, TNOC Summit provides an arena where different professionals like leaders, practitioners, policy makers and academics interact and work towards common grounds.
If you are interested in getting involved in the latest discussions about solutions to urban challenges, make sure to stay tuned and register for the event!
there is a place where children who have never walked, find freedom where children who have never talked, find words and more often than not, where every child finds a smile
In this blogpost, we celebrate the 21st of March, which is not only International Day of Forest 2019but also World Down Syndrome Day. We look how three EFUF partners implemented forest education for children with special needs, including children with Down Syndrome.
Playing and learning in forest and nature stimulates the imagination, creativity and entrepreneurship. Besides, nature is a great place to gain experience for the development of social and motor skills. The positive impact of a green learning environment is even more significant when working with children with cognitive disabilities, learning disorders, attention disabilities (such as ADHD) and autism spectrum disorders. In an informal natural environment, these children learn better than in a classroom. A green learning environment therefore increases their chances in society meaningfully. From this determination, EFUF partners BOS+ (Belgium), GOZDIS (Slovenian Forestry Institute) and Merseyforest (UK), together with schools and partners from Slovenia and England, has been executing the Green Learning Environments project, with co-funding from the ERASMUS+ programme from the European Commission and EPOS-Vlaanderen.
Based on the experiences and expertise gathered during the three year project, the project has published a Policy Brief. With this document they aim to raise awareness on the concept of Green Learning Environments and the positive impacts of green environments on learning outcomes for children with mental disabilities. The brief starts with sketching the background and some scientific evidence on the topic, describes obstacles for implementing green learning with children with mental issues, sketches the project findings, and ends with recommendations for practice and policy.
The policy recommendations are particularly interesting, as they sketch how joint efforts by the education and urban greening sectors can ameliorate the lives of children with special educational needs. These recommendations include:
Non-formal learning activities in green learning environments should become part of the educational system for all children in Europe.
The education systems across Europe should look to provide support for more green learning, including increasing awareness regarding the benefits of learning in natural environment, the creation of sites for teaching in the natural environment and signposting to organisation that can provide support (Jelen, 2018).
Learning and spending time in green learning environments can make an important contribution to the increased social inclusion of children with special needs. Green learning environments promote the skills and competences that are important for lifelong learning and the social inclusion of all children.
Accessible green should be provided close to schools. Where possible it should be provided within school grounds to allow as many children as possible to enjoy a green learning environment.
Next to the policy brief, the project also also published a searchable database with good examples, a toolbox for teachers and educators, and a comprehensive pedagogical approach that includes interesting background information about the advantages of green learning environments.
The Geographic Arboretum of Tervuren is a hidden gem at the heart of the Sonian Forest near Brussels. Its collection includes 30,000 trees and shrubs over 120 ha, representing over 600 species originating in 80 different forest types of the northern hemisphere. The selected plants are grouped together in a manner that replicates the typical forest landscape of the region of origin.
