Grow high, noo.ma Forever Forest!
Some of you may remember that last year we’ve engaged into the initiative which allowed us to fulfil our wild dream: to make up for the quick deforestation and give nature something in return. Today we’re proud to announce that our team had a hand in creation of the noo.ma Forever Forest
Our designers, web developers and marketing specialists gallantly faced the nasty weather, and worked side by side, planting out the seedlings of beeches, oaks and hornbeams which — in years ahead — will become a lush and lively forest.
„But how did it happen?” you may ask.
The answer is: thanks to the good and responsible people. A Polish non-profit organization Las na Zawsze (which literally translates as Forever Forest), according to its statutory aim, strives to work towards broadly understood ecology, environmental protection, and the principle of sustainable development by regular planting and maintaining of the forests. Thanks to the subsidies from donors, the foundation acquires areas for planting, and protects them financially, legally and socially.
How do we participate?
The commitment we agreed on with Forever Forest was to transfer donations in the amount depending on sales. Since then, each furniture and accessory purchased on our website was exchanged for 1 m² of legally protected forest, all this without increasing our pricing or adding extra costs — we simply reduced our margin to make it happen.
Moreover, the foundation invited us to take part in the actual planting — and what an adventure it was! We travelled to the eastern part of Poland, where our field is located. The Forever Forest volunteers spent with us the whole day, sharing their inspiring thoughts on nature, as well as useful information about wildlife. All this during the tiresome, but extremely rewarding efforts on slowly building the future forest area.
Foresting for rookies: a handful of info
Over the past decades, a large part of forests in Poland became pine monocultures. The monocultural forest is a place where the species and age of all trees are identical. This structure, created mainly for industrial use, is entirely unnatural and — from a broader perspective — dangerous. Such an area is substantially less inhabited and less resistant to pests or extreme weather conditions.
The urgency for planting mixed forests in our climate can be easily explained by a simple equivalency: the varied structure of a forest results in proper biodiversity. A forest that is biodiverse constitutes a healthy, multi-component and multi-level ecosystem, consisting not only of trees, but also bushes, lichens, fungi, and a number of other more or less complex organisms, intertwined and mutually supportive in order to preserve their immediate environment.
The area designated for noo.ma Forever Forest – the remains of pine trees chopped down by the previous land owner – was a very sorry sight. Nature-wise however, it’s a very promising situation for the next generation of forest – the underground infrastructure is fully formed and ready for welcoming the new seedlings. The soil is rich with microorganisms and nutrients, providing a good start for all young trees.
A key element to the proper forest environment is dead wood in various states of decomposition – from decaying trunks, through scattered, broken branches to the layer of damp leaves. Dead wood absorbs water, helping to maintain the right level of humidity. Thanks to such a complex ecosystem, when entering a natural forest, we can sense a pleasant coolness and a mild, soothing smell in the air.
The best time for planting is determined by nature cycles. That’s why we’re going to return to the forest twice a year, in early spring and late autumn — it’s when the vegetation processes slow down, but they don’t stop completely due to the sub-zero temperatures.
What’s the reason for us to come back? A forest composed of differently aged trees is much more likely to withstand different climate conditions, such as strong winds which are more and more frequent in our latitude. Therefore, in years ahead, we will help to gradually suplement the forest’s structure with young trees and bushes to make it stronger and healthier. There’s no doubt this is only the beginning of our foresting adventure!