"The main objective of the website is to pass on the many different programmes for inspiration, so that the Nordic countries, despite different rules and traditions for using nature for production and recreational purposes, can be inspired and learn from each other," explains senior researcher and project co-ordinator, Morten Ingerslev, from the Faculty of Life Sciences at the University of Copenhagen.

In Vestskoven, 15 km outside Copenhagen, a group of people with mental disabilities are thriving and at the same time making themselves very useful as forest workers in the Nature Centre Herstedhøje. A Norwegian forest owner has developed his forest into a popular place for companies to hold wilderness events, just one hour's drive from Oslo. And in Sweden the architect Thorbjörn Holmlund is struggling to get planning permission to build a conference centre, which will be housed in the stomach of a 45 meter high elk built with glulam timber.

These examples are just a random selection of the many initiatives taking place in recent years in Nordic forests and which are now collected on the website.

The idea is to create more local added value in new ways and in that way to ensure that the local community get the most enjoyment from the nearby forests. Therefore, the website has a broad target audience of forest owners, officials and politicians - but also ordinary citizens who have an interest in the opportunities available in their local forest.

Read more on www.skovenslokalevaerdier.dk

Mads Randbøll Wolff
Phone +45 33 96 02 56
Email mrw@norden.org