Meet the gardener who wants to reforest Iceland

Adrian Walder is a man on a mission to reforest Iceland. He has registered his project Birch Tree Yurts Iceland on the crowdfunding site Karolina Fund to build a novel kind of accommodation, birch tree yurts, in the north of Iceland. His ultimate goal is to have eco-friendly yurts on over 6000 hectares of land. Furthermore, the project should enable the planting of 12 – 17 million trees in Iceland. Adrian will use 100% of the profits achieved by the project for environmental projects.

Hey, Adrian, can you tell my readers about yourself?

I’m a 52-year-old gardener living in Northamptonshire, UK. I’ve not always been a gardener, though; I used to own a vinyl-only record shop, been a tree surgeon, and worked in high-end hospitality. I’m an ordinary person with a crazy dream.

What inspired you to start this exciting project to reforest Iceland?

It was a combination of factors. I recently returned from another road trip to Iceland with my son in 2019, and I was hooked. I also started watching a television show called ‘New Lives in the Wild,’ a show that documents how some people have decided to change their ‘normal’ lives and start new ones in extreme places. Two of the episodes were set in Iceland. When the Covid pandemic hit and the world was put on hold, I began to try and think of a way I could change my life and combine my love of trees, the environment, Iceland, and adventure.

You will start with three yurts on 400 acres – what then?

Scaling up the accommodation isn’t an immediate priority. The project’s primary focus will be the afforestation and reforestation of the land. The yurts are designed to provide an income for the project and also to give environmentally aware visitors an exciting place to stay, knowing their rental money is going to good causes.
The 400 hectares are the immediate focus for planting. However, we are negotiating with other landowners and farmers interested in using some of their lands to widen the planting area to hopefully around 6000 hectares over the next decade. One of my dreams is to have a tree nursery in a few years, run by the geothermal resources on the land. The result will be a ‘circular’ project, growing, supplying, and planting our saplings. In 2 or 3 years, we will look at the possibility of more yurts in different locations within the project. The project is described in greater detail on the project page link.

You had a 14-day road trip in Iceland in 2022. What activities and places impressed you the most?

Oh, that’s a difficult one!

The Snaefellsnes peninsula was one of the highlights. It’s like a microcosm of Iceland in a beautiful, manageable area. I had never been to the north before in previous visits. I love the north. The areas around Akureyri and Husavik are lovely. That part of the country has a different feel to the more popular south coast routes.

My son and I did the ‘usual’ activities. Whale watching from Husavik was great; nice to be out on the water and get a different view of the island. The glacier hike was a highlight for me; however, learning how much the glaciers have retreated in such a short time upset me and made me even more determined to get this project operational. We all need to take action to fight climate change.

What advice do you have for those visiting Iceland for the first time?

Decide when you want to visit, every month/season has its charm — research what you would like to see. You will never manage to see everything in one trip, so it’s best to choose an area or route that incorporates as much from your wish list as possible. Join some of the many Iceland Facebook groups. They are a wealth of information. Don’t be put off going because you’ve heard it’s expensive, it’s not cheap, but it is not as bad as people sometimes make it out to be.

Finally, go with an open mind. It won’t always look like those photos on Instagram. Have backup plans. Icelandic weather can change within minutes.