Welcome to Úlfljótsvatn
House for our summer volunteers - guesthouse - residency for writers and artists in the winter.
Land dedicated to reforestation.
The Lake House is an old farmhouse sitting on the shores of the lake Úlfljótsvatn where the Icelandic Forestry Association leads its forestry activities and reforestation operations in the south and west of Iceland.
Úlfljótsvatn is a 1415 hectares patch of land owned by the Icelandic Forestry Association, the Icelandic Boy and Girl Scout Association and the Scout Association of Reykjavik.
Approximately 500 hectares have been dedicated to reforestation so far. The Icelandic Forestry Association has been planting trees for carbon sequestration in Úlfljótsvatn for Kolviður – the Iceland Carbon Fund – since 2014, and today that stretch of land is close to 470 ha (see maps below). In 2021, a new contract with the Icelandic clothing company 66°North was made for an additional 12 hectares to create a multipurpose forest that will sequester carbon, help water management, increase soil fertility, create shelter, and create an attractive recreational forest. The last 20 ha of these 500 ha have been planted mostly by the Scouts of Úlfljótsvatn Forestry Association since the 1990s where one can now find a healthy and exciting recreational forest. Wetland conservation and bird life protection is also part of our land management strategy.
By doing this, we try to answer the challenges of the environmental and climate crisis by stopping and preventing further soil erosion, sequestering carbon, recreating biodiversity shelters, and extending the forest cover in Iceland. We work with a variety of tree species such as birch (Betula pubescens), spruce (Picea spp.), lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta), but also alder (Alnus spp.) and rowan (Sorbus aucuparia).
Educating the general public, especially youth, is at the core of our operations in Úlfljótsvatn. This is why we put special emphasis on the educational dimension of tree planting, and engage and interact as much as possible with groups of young people. This is made possible thanks to our close partnership with the scouts of Iceland, but also with our international ESC - ERASMUS+ volunteers, and other volunteering groups and organizations who contact us on a regular basis.
Teaching the Delegation of the European Union in Iceland about tree planting in an eroded area with the ESC volunteers, 2019.
American students of the USCGC Eagle school ship after an afternoon of tree planting, 2021.
The Lake House of Úlfljótsvatn
Úlfljótsvatnsbær
Grafningsvegur Efri
805 Selfoss
Iceland
+354-783-9531
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