Slovakia Today, English Language Current Affairs Programme from Slovak Radio

One of the few things in our modern world that has not changed for centuries is our need for forests. They provide so much more than the wood we all consume in myriads of forms in our daily lives. Forests are the lungs of the planet. They sequester carbon, provide habitat for many animals, and offer people a place to rest and reset. To keep many of our private and public forests healthy and productive, we turn to foresters. They employ skills that have been handed down for generations and use the most advanced science for understanding how forests grow and change. In Slovakia, many start their education path in the handful of forestry high schools spread across the country. One of the oldest of these schools is still in operation today. It lies in the low Tatras in a village called Liptovský Hrádok. Stredná odborná škola lesnícka a drevárska Jozefa Dekreta Matejovie is a school like no other. In the show, we toured the school to discover the traditions and science driving this unusual but important education path.