The new SOIL:OurInvisibleAlly project (2024-2027), nested in the Interreg Alpine Space Programme, was launched during the project’s first official Project Partner meeting on 10-11^th October hosted by the Lead Partner, the Slovenian Forestry Institute, in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The kick-off meeting was attended by all 12 project partners.

The first day began with the introduction of the project and the project partners in front of a combined hybrid audience of internal guests and the project’s observers. In the afternoon, despite the heavy autumn rains, the partners went on an excursion to the forests of the Radovna and Krma valleys, where the devastating effects of a storm that destroyed and cleared 45,000 m³ of trees in the previous year could still be observed.

The second day of the meeting was dedicated to organizational and thematic discussions as well as to the planning of future activities. The Project Partners discussed the details of individual work packages, reviewed and agreed on deadlines and established a meeting schedule.