The Ancient Woods Foundation, together with Radio Vilnius and Vilnius – European Green Capital 2025, organised a free concert and support initiative to encourage discussion about nature and contribute to the social campaign “Uncuttable Assets” (Neįkertamas turtas). The event featured live performances by the duo Santaka, consisting of Manfredas and Marijus Aleksa, and Lukas Pilkauskas, while Deimantė Bulbenkaitė, Simas Slabačiauskas, Sandra Gemayel, Visvaldas Morkevičius and other residents of Radio Vilnius shared their musical selections.

The non-governmental organisation Ancient Woods Foundation, together with the independent online radio station Radio Vilnius and the project “Vilnius – European Green Capital 2025”, organised an all-day concert and support initiative in one of the greenest areas of Vilnius, i.e. the guest house and campsite Downtown Forest in Užupis. The free event, which was broadcast live, brought together famous Lithuanian music creators and performers, ambassadors of the foundation and residents of the radio station.

The event began with discussions about culture and our relationship with nature, as well as the importance of promoting environmental protection. During the event, the representatives of the Ancient Woods Foundation were interviewed by science journalist, communicator and educator Goda Raibytė-Aleksa. In addition, event participants were treated to live performances by the project “Santaka”, a collaboration between electronic music producer Manfredas Bajelis, who had just performed in Japan, and one of Lithuania’s most famous drummers, Marijus Aleksa, as well as an acoustic performance by Lukas Pilkauskas, accompanied by musical selections from the residents of Radio Vilnius and the ambassadors of the campaign “Senamiškio Rezidencijos” (The Old Wood Recidencies) Deimantė Bulbenkaitė, Sandra Gemayel, Simas Slabačiauskas, Visvaldas Morkevičius and others.

One of the main goals of the event was to invite the public to participate in the social campaign “Uncuttable Assets” (Neįkertamas turtas), which was jointly organised throughout August by the foundation and the brand strategy, research and design agency Synthesis Consulting Group. The project “Senamiškio Rezidencijos” (The Old Wood Recidencies), which has become the focus of this campaign, encourages people to join in protecting the most biologically valuable forests of the country and, at the same time, to buy and preserve 20 hectares of forest that will become old-growth forests for future generations.

The initiative “Senamiškio Rezidencijos” (The Old Wood Recidencies) conveys the uniqueness of old forests and the value of biodiversity through the prism of real estate projects. However, instead of newly built neighbourhoods, there are millennia-old communities of plants, animals and fungi. In these residences, every square metre belongs to nature, whether it be Ural owls and lynxes, broad-leaved mosses or living wood.

“With this project, we aim to make the ancient forests of Lithuania a truly invaluable asset and to raise awareness in society of why nature is a value in itself. So we invite everyone to enjoy the music together and get involved with actions,” says Rimantė Paulauskaitė-Digaitienė, the head of the Ancient Woods Foundation.

“We believe that such initiatives bring communities together to act. An entire ecosystem of life lies behind every preserved tree, and a stronger connection between people lies behind every joint action. With this event, we aim not only to raise funds, but also to encourage city dwellers to reconsider their relationship with the environment,” adds Kotryna Briedytė, the co-founder of the radio station.

Vilnius City Municipality also contributed to the event with the project “Vilnius – European Green Capital”, which aims to bring environmental issues closer to every city resident. A concert was also organised in conjunction with the fund to mark the Earth Day, so this initiative is an opportunity to strengthen and inspire the community and encourage participants to make positive changes.

“Nature is an invaluable asset to all of us. The more we talk about it and create meaningful experiences together, the more we protect and appreciate it. We want the residents of Vilnius to find time to be together in nature, to talk about what is really important – our environment, community and sustainability. Such events inspire us to act together and strengthen the community spirit,” says Jurga Pociūtė-Mikūtienė, the head of the project “Vilnius – European Green Capital 2025”.