{"id":22894,"date":"2026-09-08T12:19:57","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T10:19:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.etifor.com\/en\/?p=22894"},"modified":"2026-09-18T10:41:36","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T08:41:36","slug":"employee-foundation-vkr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.etifor.com\/en\/portfolio\/employee-foundation-vkr\/","title":{"rendered":"Restoring the forest, rediscovering the sky<\/span>"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Context<\/span><\/h2><\/span>
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In October 2018, storm Vaia felled 14 million trees across the Dolomites<\/strong>, a UNESCO World Heritage site. In the following years, a bark beetle epidemic damaged even the trees that had survived. The loss of forest cover left the area visibly scarred, but it also exposed, more clearly than ever before, the starry sky above the valley<\/strong> – turning a wound in the landscape into an opportunity for regeneration and learning.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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The project<\/span><\/h2><\/span>
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Employee Foundation of the VKR Group, through its Reconnect with Nature programme and with the support of VELUX Italia employees, launched “From wounds to wonder: rebuild, reforest, reconnect” in the heart of Val di Fiemme, giving rise to the Forest of Stars. The project involves planting 15,000 native and diversified trees and shrubs<\/strong>, selected to strengthen the forest’s resilience to climate change, in partnership with Magnifica Comunit\u00e0 di Fiemme, the centuries-old body that manages the valley’s woodlands. It also includes restoring roughly 800 metres of the historic path<\/strong> between Valmaggiore and Lago di Moregna, enriched with educational panels and a dedicated astronomy trail<\/strong> developed with “Chi ha paura del buio?” and researchers from the University of Padova.<\/p>\n

Two wooden shelters will also be installed along the trail: THE TABLE, a resting point<\/strong> for those walking the trail, and THE HIDEOUT, designed for sky and local wildlife observation<\/strong>. The timber to build them is provided free of charge by Magnifica Comunit\u00e0 di Fiemme, which also runs the local sawmill: it is short-supply-chain timber from trees felled by Vaia and the bark beetle, FSC certified, giving a second life to the wood brought down by the storm.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Our contribution<\/span><\/h2><\/span>
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Etifor, together with WOWnature,<\/a> conceived the project and coordinates it from start to finish, from design to on-the-ground delivery. Our contribution includes:<\/p>\n