Dear members of the Western Macedonia Model Forest, We’re thrilled to share that our region is now part of the SMURF project, a groundbreaking EU initiative to  empower small forest owners across Europe! Funded by Horizon Europe, SMURF aims to boost sustainable forest management, economic resilience, and innovation—goals that align perfectly with our Model Forest’s vision Through SMURF’s Cascade Funding, we’re unlocking opportunities to:

• Share local expertise: Our participation will help shape EU-wide guidelines by contributing insights on challenges like small-scale forestry, wildfire resilience, and sustainable wood products—key issues for Western Macedonia’s forest-dependent communities

• Access funding for action: The project’s 1st Cascade Call (2024) provided grants up to €5,000 to 40 organizations for surveys and networking. While this phase has closed, our involvement ensures we’re primed for the 2nd Call (open until July 2025), which offers up to €60,000 for pilot projects like Close-to-Nature Silviculture demonstrations or carbon credit initiatives

• Build partnerships: SMURF connects us with a network of 75+ organizations across 27 EU countries, fostering knowledge exchange on everything from biodiversity – friendly practices to payment schemes for ecosystem services (PES) Your voice matters! As we gear up for SMURF’s next phases-including training sessions and working groups-we’ll keep you updated on how to engage. Together, we can turn challenges like climate adaptation and rural depopulation into opportunities for our forests and communities. Stay tuned for workshops and calls to action-let’s make Western Macedonia a model of sustainable forestry innovation!