Returning to the heart of Poland for the 4th edition of Forest Camp
By Alexander Held and Lindon Pronto, European Forest Institute.
The first edition of Forest Camp took place in Golabki, and now, after several years of “camping” in different locations across Poland, we returned to the SNEP Village and surrounding forests in central Poland, where it all began.
The European Forest Institute (EFI) Resilience Program, with its WKR initiative, supported SNEP over the years, and now, with the newly established Pan-European Forest Risk Facility (FoRISK), we could continue this tradition. This year, FoRISK could support the Camp and, in particular, help raise the number of participants from Ukraine.
The Camp was tucked away in the beautiful forests around Golabki and attracted 160 participants from 25 countries and four continents. The mix of participants was diverse, covering fire service and forestry, as well as scientists, media, mountain rescue, and even bankers. The Camp location, fortunately, did not provide any internet or mobile phone connection, so people had no choice but to meet, talk, share, eat, laugh, and dance together around the campfire. There were many cabins in the woods, and a communal base of operations was established from Thursday evening to Monday morning. Three days full of fire management training stations that the teams had to master: firefighting from boats, ATV-offroad training, fire behaviour analysis, working with advanced equipment like robots and helicopters, testing skills with portable pumps and equipment/apparatus, medical scenarios, 20km of hiking and manoeuvres in the forest, culminating with containing a live-fire with no water and only hand tools. The teams ended their long days having fully deserved the leisure and bonding time in the evenings!
The networking was exceptional; relationships were formed, knowledge and experience were shared, and even a marriage proposal arose from the ashes of the burn plots.
A truly unique event, again, came to an end too fast. But we look forward to seeing many familiar faces again next time! A special highlight for us was the participation from the Ukrainian forest sector, which we will follow up on for further cooperation with a visit to Kyiv in June. Further, the incredible value of this event will be presented and shared at the FAO Global Fire Hub in Rome.
With great pleasure, we also received a group from Iceland, which we had visited for a World Bank/DG ECHO project in 2024 and 2025 – just one small example of the reach of the Forest Camp movement – as indeed it has inspired similar events in the Czech Republic and Lebanon. Networks and relationships are growing, and with each event, the community comes together, making the “fire world” feel a little smaller as we learn from and support one another in navigating the wildfire challenges ahead.
For more background and perspectives on Forest Camp, check out this publication in Wildfire Magazine: https://www.iawfonline.org/article/forest-camp-a-gruelling-but-spectacular-week/