9,600 Christmas trees brought home from the state forest 29.01

This past holiday season people in Estonia brought home 9,600 Christmas trees from the state forest, which is 900 more than the year before
Most of the people went to the forest right before Christmas. “That was when half of the spruces were taken,” commented Toomas Väät, Silviculture Head Specialist at RMK. “Popular dates also included 23 and 24 December, but others prepared for Christmas early and brought their tree home already in the middle of December,” he confirmed.

Finding the correct site and paying for the tree has been made simple and convenient with the help of the map on RMK’s homepage and RMK’s mobile app. The mobile app locates the state forest, makes it possible to establish one’s position, and to pay for the Christmas tree. This year most of the spruces bought were 1-2 metres in height and cost EUR 8. Mobile payment was used to pay for 75% of the trees.

Taking a spruce from the state forest is based on trust; however, visitors to the forest are checked on by the Environmental Inspectorate and employees of RMK. According to Leili Tuule, PR Director of the Environmental Inspectorate, no violations were discovered this year at the sale sites or in the forest.

RMK provides Christmas trees for free to substitute homes across Estonia. This year, a total of 100 spruces were given to 26 substitute homes.

RMK has been providing the option of bringing home one’s own Christmas tree from the state forest since 2008. Last year, 8,700 spruces were taken home from the state forest. Christmas trees may be cut down only where they stand no chance of growing to maturity: along the edges of roads and ditches, under overhead power lines and under old forest.

RMK is the keeper, protector and manager of the forest and other natural biotic communities belonging to the Estonian state. RMK earns a profit for the state through forest management, growing reforestation material, and organising forest and nature protection works. In addition, RMK establishes opportunities for nature walking in recreational and protected areas and shapes nature awareness. RMK consists of the Sagadi Forest Centre, Elistvere Animal Park, Tartu Tree Nursery, 70% of Estonian-Finnish joint company AS Eesti Metsataim and the Põlula Fish Farm. More than 700 people work for RMK.

Further information:
Toomas Väät
Silviculture Head Specialist of RMK
Telephone 520 5734
E-mail toomas.vaat@rmk.ee