On 11 May 2013, Members of the Seimas and its staff, along with foresters, planted the European Forest to mark the first Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

Over thirteen thousand of European larches, black alders and common birches were planted in as many as 3 hectares of land belonging to Paparčiai forest district in Kaišiadorys District.

More than one hundred people joined the event, including Vydas Gedvilas, Speaker of the Seimas, Petras Auštrevičius, Deputy Speaker of the Seimas, Jonas Milerius, Secretary General, and Andrius Krivas, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The Speaker of the Seimas commended the staff of the Seimas for their initiative and diligence. He said that the personnel of the state forest enterprise were also pleasantly surprised by the results of planting and praised the staff of the Seimas for their thorough work. “It is also great to see how the forest planted nine years ago shoots up today,” said Vydas Gedvilas, Speaker of the Seimas. “It is symbolic that this year birches were planted in the shape of Lithuania. This will be the legacy for future generations and will remind of the first Lithuanian Presidency of the Council.”

Jonas Milerius was happy that the tradition of planting the European Forest was revived after a few years’ break. The Secretary General believed that a lot of Members of the Seimas and its staff took part in the keep-it-clean campaign Darom 2013 organised on the same weekend. Both events complement one another, while tree planting by the Seimas could be continued as early as this autumn. “In the previous years tree establishment was excellent because over 90% of seedlings took root. This proves how eagerly and responsibly the forest planters – Members of the Seimas and its staff – take to the task,” said the Secretary General. Jonas Milerius also expressed his gratitude to the Directorate General of State Forests under the Ministry of Environment and Kaišiadorys Forest Enterprise for their support to this wonderful initiative, helpfulness and warm atmosphere.

Planting of the European Forest is an event organised jointly by the Seimas and the Directorate General of State Forests, which has already become a parliamentary tradition. This event marked the start of Lithuania’s membership of the European Union in 2004 as well as the first membership anniversary in 2005.

In 2013, the tree-planting initiative turns 90 years old! In 1923 tree planting was organised for the first time by Prof. Tadas Ivanauskas.

In 1995–2010, Lithuania was the country protecting forests best in the world. (Source: 2012 findings by Yale University, USA.)