This April and May, the Kurzeme Planning Region is continuing the public engagement campaign “Become a tree avenue detective!” under the “Green Guardians” project, inviting residents to help identify and document the tree avenues of Kurzeme.

Why does it matter?

Spring is a particularly good time to spot and appreciate tree avenues – as the trees come into leaf, their outlines become more striking and their biodiversity more visible. Tree avenues are an important part of Kurzeme's landscape and cultural heritage – they enrich the surrounding environment, preserve the stories of generations and are at the same time important for safeguarding natural values.

As part of the “Green Guardians” project, and thanks to public involvement, the Kurzeme Planning Region is building a single database of tree avenues that will make it easier to identify, preserve and develop them in the future as well.

How do you become a tree avenue detective?

Everyone is invited to look out for tree avenues in their own area and report them by filling in the participatory GIS survey:
https://ej.uz/alejudetektivs

You can complete the survey online using the link, or simply by scanning the QR code. In it you can give the location of the avenue, add photographs and provide other useful information.

Take a look at the avenues already submitted

The avenues identified so far can be viewed on an interactive map:
https://ej.uz/pieteiktoalejukarte

What has been done so far?

The campaign is a continuation of the initiative launched last autumn, during which information was received about 228 tree avenues across Kurzeme. Residents were most active in Dienvidkurzeme (60 submissions), as well as in Kuldīga and Tukums municipalities (52 each). Submissions were also received from the city of Liepāja (19), Talsi and Ventspils municipalities (13), Saldus municipality (11) and the city of Ventspils (8).

This shows both how responsive residents are and that there are still many undiscovered tree avenues in Kurzeme.

Get involved!

The results of last year's campaign demonstrate the interest and participation of local people. Every avenue spotted and reported is significant on the path towards preserving them. We invite you to take part again this spring, become a tree avenue detective and help identify Kurzeme's avenues so that they can be preserved for future generations.

Campaign video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cat38UrR4t8

About the campaign

The campaign “Become a tree avenue detective!” is being carried out under project No. LL-00251 “Preservation of tree avenues for biodiversity in Kurzeme and Northern Lithuania (Green Guardians)”, co-financed by the European Union's Interreg VI-A Latvia–Lithuania Programme 2021-2027.

The information gathered during the campaign will be used to create a single database of tree avenues, providing a basis for the further protection and management of avenues.