Forests in Denmark

After a confusing bus delay yesterday, today we went to a forest about 30 minutes outside the center of Copenhagen. When the glaciers melted from the Ice Age, they left large pools of water - lakes - throughout Denmark, the forest we visited included two of those lakes and large areas of trees.

As the Five Finger plan for developing greenspace in Copenhagen took shape, more and more forests have been established by man for many reasons. Denmark realized the importance of greenspace and how important it is to take care of the environment. Due to this, the movement to preserve and develop greenspace became a priority for the Danes. Many forests were replanted to with conifers and deciduous trees - spruce, oak, pine, beech. These greenspaces became a hub for educational purposes, recreation and for new habitats to develop. With forestry being a large task, especially with a lot of greenspace to cover, establishing forests also can provide jobs and financial benefits - privately owned versus publicly owned. All of these benefits are what has provided valuable greenspace for Denmark. Even though these plots of land could have been converted into housing or other developments, it is apparent how valuable greenspace is to the Danes with the fact they have replanted so many trees/plants to help preserve and establish natural environment.

The pictures below show a bench overlooking the lake for recreation, the lake which was made by glaciers thousands of years ago and a path through the trees which got older in age the farther into the forest you walked. With all of these forests developed, it has provided new habitats for wildlife, place for recreation in a crowded city as well as health benefits - cleaner air, decrease pollution/run off. Benefits like these will be noticeable for future users, which is really the ultimate goal.