Festivals bring people together, both literally and spiritually. They create space to enjoy togetherness, share stories and ideas, and celebrate diversity. But they also come with environmental impacts, with travel by guests and artists weighing heaviest. The tension between gathering people together and protecting the environment has given rise to more and more projects aimed at reducing festivals' environmental impact.

One of these projects is European Festivals Forest, a pan-European nonprofit organization working with Land og skógur (the Icelandic Land and Forest Service) on afforestation in Iceland. Every €2 contribution from festivals or their guests becomes one planted tree, and recently the important milestone was reached of tree number 30,000 being planted at Tumastöðum.

To celebrate this milestone, Tónlistarmiðstöð (Iceland Music), Land og skógur, and European Festivals Forest invite those behind Icelandic music festivals, and other interested parties, to a planting day on Thursday, September 17th.

Schedule

• 9:15 | Departure from Reykjavík (departure point to be announced later)
• 11:00–12:30 | Guided tour of the plant nursery at Tumastöðum and planting with Land og skógur
• 12:30–13:30 | Lunch courtesy of Land og skógur
• 13:30–15:00 | Drive back to Reykjavík

Participation is free and registration takes place here

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