In Iceland, a reforestation group is restoring a parcel of land called “Skógar” (or “forests”). It is both an historic and treasured site in Iceland. It was the location where, in the 9th century and beyond, tribal chiefs of the early settlers met to resolve disputes and discuss other issues. It is also the site where Matthías Jochumsson, the Poet-Laureate of Iceland, was born. [See Appendix below on Matthías Jochumsson and the Bahá'í Faith]

Matthias Jochumsson
Jochum Eggertsson

A nephew of Matthias Jochumsson, Jochum Eggertsson, famous in his own right, was known as a writer, poet, translator, amateur archaeologist and more. Jochum, too, had a great interest in Skógar, and in 1950 was able to purchase the land. He wanted to develop the land through reforestation. The area Jochum chose, because of its historic background and his family ties to it, was at that time isolated and the weather conditions were formidable. He worked alone, living in a small hut on the land, in the isolated northwest corner of Iceland, starting the replanting process as the first step in the effort to regrow the depleted forests. At that time only a handful of people in the country saw any meaning in what he was doing. This is reminiscent of the Man of the Trees, Richard St. Barbe Baker, who himself did not tread the common road.

The hut at Skógar

Jochum was one of the early members of the Baha’i Community in Iceland. Prior to his passing in 1966, he endowed the property at Skogar to the Baha’i Community with the stipulation that his reforestation efforts would be continued.

Skógar

Skógar was originally a farm with a land cover of 13 sq. Km, mostly mountainous. The site lies in northwest Iceland in a region called the Westfjords. Over time, the forests the farm takes its name from were slowly destroyed. There are early descriptions in Icelandic literature recounting the loss of forests in Iceland. The causes of deforestation include the early inhabitant’s use of wood for fuel and dwellings, the grazing of livestock, and destructive weather conditions. As the centuries went by and the forests disappeared,  the soil became exposed and eroded due to high winds, cold weather, surface water and other forces of nature. Already in the 1800’s the forests at Skógar, which had been highly prized at its settlement, had been lost, but some of the scrub remained.

Soil conservation

Ecosystem degradation is by far the largest environmental problem in Iceland. Vast areas have become deserts through the ages and it is a herculean task to reverse the process and regain what has been lost. There are areas which are desert-like with no vegetation, but these places respond well due to the moist environment.

Gravel bed May fertilised
July flowers
different flowers
holurt (Silene vulgaris)

When fertiliser is spread in May, by July all kinds of gravel bed flowers appear but the gravel beds reacted differently, some not at all, others with only one kind of flower. How do seeds from plants not found anywhere in the vicinity of these barren areas at Skógar find their way there? How long have they lain in the ground waiting for the right circumstances and nourishment to cause them to take root and grow? Why doesn’t the whole area burst into growth in the same way?

Forest restoration

At Skógar, restoring a holistic ecosystem is in two steps: the first is the re-establishment of a healthy soil system, followed by the sowing, seeding, cultivation and caring for new forest elements. Protecting the fragile growth from the destructive winter conditions of Iceland requires additional work. Frost, snow and heavy winds are common and in some places it is necessary to protect the young trees by building shelters.

Winter shelters

Some of the areas had adequate humidity and shelter that had protected the soil and allowed growth of some ground vegetation to thrive. In those places, it was possible to plant tree seedlings without delay. The trees were not for timber production, but the most diverse species of trees that could thrive in this north-western portion of Iceland. Some of the trees chosen included spruce, pine, larch, birch, elder, hemlock, mountain ash, and various species of willow and poplar.

Aerial photograph before: older planted trees in original birch woodlands
Aerial photograph after: newer gravel and vegetation along ponds and streams

The Icelandic nation faces gigantic task to regain the forest cover of the country. At the same time the world is heading into a future which is full of uncertainty, but the vision for Skógar and the future is positive. The land is diverse and magnificent and will in the near future act like an outdoor classroom for children and youth in the area, creating a general public interest in forestation and an assurance that forests can be restored even in the northernmost parts of the country.

older restoration
young conifer sheltered by birch scrub

In a letter some years ago, the Universal House of Justice wrote: “With regard to the endowment property at Skógar, the attention you are giving to its maintenance is noted with appreciation, and these efforts may be sufficient for the time being. This land holds much promise for the future and, in time, the capacity for learning in your community will extend beyond the realm of expansion and consolidation to encompass social action and participation in the prevalent discourses of society. As capacity in these areas grows, it is the hope of the House of Justice that the friends, through consultation and loving united action, will then be able to give fresh consideration to the opportunities available for the utilization of this land—not just as a model of stewardship and reclamation, but as a means for expanding your community’s engagement with others interested in conservation issues….”

APPENDIX - Matthías Jochumsson and the Bahá'í Faith

Today, Skógar is perhaps most well known as the birthplace of one of Iceland’s most beloved poets, Matthías Jochumsson.

Matthías was born at Skógar on November 11, 1835 and lived there for the first 11 years of his life. Although starting school late, he excelled at his studies and was ordained as a priest, became a newspaper editor, a schoolteacher, a playwright, and a translator of many works into Icelandic from English and Scandinavian languages (Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, King Lear).

Matthías’ poetry touched the hearts of the Icelandic Nation. His most famous poem, written in 1874, commemorates the thousand-year anniversary of Iceland's founding by Ingolfur Arnason. Nationwide celebrations were held to mark the establishment of the first Norse settlement in Iceland. The poem, when later put to music, became Iceland’s National Anthem. It was played when Iceland gained its sovereignty from Denmark in 1918. It is entitled "O, God of Our Land":

Our country's God! Our country's God!
We worship Thy name in its wonder sublime.
The suns of the heavens are set in Thy crown
By Thy legions, the ages of time!
With Thee is each day as a thousand years,
Each thousand of years, but a day,
Eternity's flow'r, with its homage of tears,
That reverently passes away.
Iceland's thousand years!
Eternity's flow'r, with its homage of tears,
That reverently passes away.

Matthías’ religious views were more liberal than might have been expected for a member of the clergy of the Lutheran Church of Iceland. He explored Unitarianism and remained open to other religious and spiritual perspectives throughout his life.

Matthías traveled to Chicago in 1893 to visit the Columbian Exposition that was being held there. A part of the Exposition program included the Parliament of World Religions, and it was at this event that the Bahá'í Faith was first mentioned in the West. Reverend Ford, a Christian Minister in Syria, presented a paper written by Reverend Henry Jessup. At the end of the paper these words of Bahá’u’lláh, recorded by Edward Granville Brown, were read:

“That all nations should become one in faith and all men as brothers; that the bonds of affection and unity between the sons of men should be strengthened; that diversity of religions should cease and differences of race be annulled. What harm is there in this? Yet so it shall be. These fruitless strifes, these ruinous wars shall pass away, and the ‘Most Great Peace’ shall come. Do not you in Europe need this also? Let not a man glory in this, that he loves his country; let him rather glory in this, that he loves his kind.”

We just don’t know if Matthías Jochumsson listened to this presentation at the Exposition or heard of it in some other way. However, we do know that something strongly attracted him to the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, the Prophet Founder of the Bahá'í Faith. What is clear is that something was stirring the spiritual curiousity of Matthías and leading him to a greater and greater understanding of Baha’u’lláh’s Message for humanity.

Some fifteen years later, in 1908, an article was written by Þórhallur Bjarnarson, Bishop of the Lutheran Church of Iceland and published in the Kirkjublaðið (Church Times) under the title, “A Persian Messiah”.

In this article, the Bishop refers to Bahá’u’lláh as a “glorious preacher and God’s witness”, and compares the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh with those of Christ. It is quite an amazing article, especially so coming from the Bishop of the National Church of Iceland. Matthías would almost certainly have read this article and perhaps even had some influence in the writing of it by the Bishop. We can’t know how all this came together. However, we can surely assume that Matthías’s spirit was touched by the things he had heard of Bahá’u’lláh.

So much so, that in 1915, 22 years after his trip to Chicago, Matthias himself writes a praiseworthy article about the Bahá'í Faith which is published on 24 December of that year in the newspaper “Islendingur” under the title, “Husein Ali; The Persian Messiah”. Here are some extracts from that article:

“…I want to call to mind in few strokes the two latest messengers of peace both of whom have in our days called out from the East to the countries of the West the ancient joyous message of angels, but few there are who will listen. One of the prophets was Leo Tolstoy and we all know his message. But the other was the Persian Husein Ali, the great prophet, a founder of the remarkable religious denomination which is called Behaism, while he himself is called Beha Allah, the Splendour from God, by his disciples. He was born on November 12 in 1817, taught his message for 40 years, being persecuted for a long time until he died in 1892….

He sent epistles to all the major kings and rulers and forbade them to make war on each other… "Peace will only be achieved," he said "with the light of unity, compassion and love." He challenged all religious sects and denominations to desist from fanaticism, hate and persecution… His message to all nations was the message of the King of love in an Eastern fashion. "Speak the language of love to good and evil for all are on their way, either far from God or near to him, for all roads lead to him. He created the being of every man and he is its centre…

…he foresaw, among many other things, the fate of Napoleon III, the woes of the French and the fate of the Turkish which are now in evidence. But even if neither Christian nor Eastern clergymen had the courage to follow him, great numbers of the wisest of men see him as a man of God and view his teachings as the light of the future. "The day will come," Professor Brown says, "when the standards of all religions will bow before him and the Christmas song celebrating the birth of Jesus will be sung with new rejoicing and eternal power of faith."
M.J.

SOURCE based on https://www.internationaltreefoundation.org/news/a-story-from-iceland-a…
and correspondence from the author