Dear members of the Western Macedonia Model Forest, We\u2019re thrilled to share that our region is now part of the SMURF project, a groundbreaking EU initiative to\u00a0 empower small forest owners across Europe! Funded by Horizon Europe, SMURF aims to boost sustainable forest management, economic resilience, and innovation\u2014goals that align perfectly with our Model Forest\u2019s vision Through SMURF\u2019s Cascade Funding, we\u2019re unlocking opportunities to:<\/p>\n
\u2022 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\u2014key issues for Western Macedonia\u2019s forest-dependent communities<\/p>\n
\u2022 Access funding for action: The project\u2019s 1st Cascade Call (2024) provided grants up to \u20ac5,000 to 40 organizations for surveys and networking. While this phase has closed, our involvement ensures we\u2019re primed for the 2nd Call (open until July 2025), which offers up to \u20ac60,000 for pilot projects like Close-to-Nature Silviculture demonstrations or carbon credit initiatives<\/p>\n
\u2022 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\u2019s next phases-including training sessions and working groups-we\u2019ll 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\u2019s make Western Macedonia a model of sustainable forestry innovation!<\/p>\n