On Thursday and Friday, October 10 and 11, 2024, Slovenian Forestry Institute hosted kick-off meeting for our new international project Soil:OurInvisibleAlly (2024-2027), under the Interreg Alpine Space program. The project focuses on the protection of soil as a key natural resource, which is often overlooked but essential for our environment.
The project is led by the Slovenian Forestry Institute under the leadership of Associate Professor Dr. Primož Simončič, and includes 11 other project partners: Stiftung Kunst und Natur - Nantesbuch, Agricultural Institute of Slovenia, Land Salzburg, Klimabündnis Tirol, INRAE, DISAFA UniTo, Landkreis Landsberg am Lech, Regione Valle d'Aosta, Naturland, the Slovenia Forest Service, and Parco delle Orobie Valtellinesi.
The first day was dedicated to the introduction of the project and our partners. We were welcomed by the Director of the Slovenian Forestry Institute, Dr. Nike Krajnc, the Director of the Slovenia Forest Service, Gregor Danev, and the Director of the Agricultural Institute of Slovenia, Dr. Andrej Simončič. In the afternoon, despite the rain, we went on an excursion to the forest areas of the Radovna and Krma valleys, which were heavily affected by a storm last year that brought down 45,000 m³ of trees. The uniqueness of the area was presented by forester Andrej Gartner from the Bled regional unit of the Slovenia Forest Service and Andrej Arih from Triglav National Park.
The second day focused on thematic discussions and planning for future work. Project partners discussed the details of individual work packages, reviewed timelines, and coordinated future meetings.
You can view some highlights from the meeting and the field visit in the gallery. A big thank you to all partners for their active participation and support – together we will work towards a sustainable future for our soils!
