On June 11–12, 2025, the picturesque town of Kuldīga hosted the first partner meeting of the international project “Green Guardians: Alley Conservation for Biodiversity in Kurzeme and Northern Lithuania” (Green Guardians). Over the course of two days, project representatives from Latvia and Lithuania worked together at the Kuldīga Development Agency to review the project’s progress and plan future activities.
The project is implemented by the Kurzeme Planning Region (Latvia) and involves the participation of Kuldīga Municipality (Latvia), Tukums Municipality (Latvia), Vytautas Magnus University (Lithuania), the NGO “Valley of Innovators” (Lithuania), Kretinga District Municipality Administration (Lithuania), and the Directorate of Aukštaitija Protected Areas (Lithuania).
The event was opened by representatives of the Kuldīga Municipality, who emphasized the importance of tree-lined avenues in cultural and natural heritage. On the first day, partners presented the activities carried out so far and the next steps, with particular attention given to planning the public awareness campaign. The partners agreed on a common message, target audiences, communication channels, and the campaign’s visual elements, as well as how to ensure consistency across countries and languages.
In the afternoon, participants went on a walk along the Stendes and Aizputes Street avenues in Kuldīga, providing an opportunity to explore natural heritage values in the urban environment.
The second day focused on more technical tasks – the project’s newly developed alley database in the ArcGIS environment was presented, along with a PGIS (Participatory Geographic Information System) survey intended for public involvement. The aim of the survey is to give local residents the opportunity to participate in mapping and assessing tree alleys themselves.
To test the suitability of the survey in different conditions, the partners went on a field visit to several alleys in the Kuldīga area – from Alejas Street in Kuldīga to a newer alley on the way to Padure. The Padure alley proved to be particularly interesting – it can be divided into three sections: a mixed-species alley with 2–4 rows of plantings, a double-row Holland linden alley, and a historic manor alley that still retains its authentic setting.
Following the fieldwork, a joint evaluation session was held – comments were summarized, aspects for improvement identified, and a unified approach was developed for defining landscapes, tree health, the number of alley rows, and other important criteria. The partners also agreed on the final version of the survey and plan to develop a simple and accessible guidebook for anyone interested in participating in alley assessments.
At the end of the meeting, valuable insights were shared by arborist, dendrologist, and nature expert Gvido Leiburgs, who, together with GIS specialist Jānis Puga from the Kurzeme Planning Region, emphasized the importance of high-quality data collection and its role in sustainable landscape planning. Participants also reviewed the photos and mapping materials gathered during the day, which further reinforced the significance of the project.
The goal of the project is to improve the protection, maintenance, and restoration of tree alleys, as well as to carry out an inventory of tree alleys in Kurzeme and Northern Lithuania. It also aims to strengthen the capacity of local governments, enhance knowledge, and promote public awareness of tree alley conservation and biodiversity protection.
The partner meeting took place within the framework of Interreg project No. LL-00251 “Tree Alley Conservation for Biodiversity in Kurzeme and Northern Lithuania (Green Guardians),” co-financed by the European Union’s Interreg VI-A Latvia–Lithuania Programme 2021–2027.
Information prepared by:
Inga Hartika
Project coordinator in the field of tourism and marketing, PR specialist
+371 26678815, +371 25494758
inga.hartika@kurzemesegions.lv
