In 2017 Universeum (the Nordic region’s largest Science Centre) will launch an initiative on Swedish forests to increase knowledge of the forest resources and its importance, as well as a desire to explore it. Focali is, together with a group of other collaborative partners engaged in designing the initiative content and student assignments. We have the motivating task to bring a global perspective to the initiative.

One main activity in the initiative is Unga Spekulerar (young speculates), an event with the theme Älska Skog (love forest) where primary school students will get the chance to promote Swedish forest for a specific audience. In 2017 the idea is for students in grades 5 and 6 to get their views on how to get more people to discover and visit the Swedish forests. The following year grade 7 and 8 will reflect on our future use of the forest, and which sustainable products we can produce. The students get to meet people from academia, business, politics and organizations in order to influence their future. The winning class will receive 10 000 Swedish kronor and an overnight stay at the aquarium hall in Universeum.

For the broader public, Focali reseachers Martin Persson and Johan Uddling are assisting in the development of interactive information booths in the rainforest. The activities will be intuitive and engaging, and designed to trigger the guest to solve a tricky mission. They will show fascinating rainforest facts such as different aspects of biodiversity and symbiosis, as well as environmental issues. One booth will highlight indigenous people living in the Amazon, and another will present possible actions we can take to reduce our own impact on negative environmental effects of the expansion of agricultural land.

In addition to the Älska skog competition and the interactive booths in the rainforest, the focus on forests at Universeum also include lectures in their Science Café with the aim to show different perspectives on forests. Last November Martin Persson held a seminar on rainforest biodiversity focused on the SDG 15 (life on land). A new seminar is planned for autumn 2017, but the topic is not relieved yet.

- We want to spread knowledge about the Swedish forests and highlight its importance for biodiversity, public health, integration and much more. At the same time we hope to give students new perspectives on forestry, on how we use the forest and the sustainable products that we can produce from the forest in the future, says Christa Törn-Lindhe, project manager for the initiative at Universeum.

Read more about Unga spekulerar here.