To restore the population of Brown Trout within the project “The Return of a Million Trout” (2011-2014) initiated by “Skonto Būve” the rivers of Latvia were stocked with new life – one million Brown Trout fry. 

Guntis Rāvis, “Skonto Būve” Chairman of the Board: “Even at the beginning of the last century, Brown Trout were widespread throughout Latvia, but now a Brown Trout is a rare catch for fishermen and now it lives only in about 200 rivers. Despite that, the Brown Trout is not included in the list of specially protected fish, also up to now there have been no state support programs to replenish their population. Therefore we decided to propose a private initiative and within four years to stock the rivers of Latvia with one million Brown Trout fry, 250 000 each year.” 

The release sites of the fry have been chosen according to scientific research data of the Latvian rivers in order to restore the population of Brown Trout in rivers, that are appropriate for Brown Trout, but where there are none or very few trout and where their further development is endangered.

 A permit has been received from the Food Safety, Animal Health and Environmental Scientific Institute “BIOR” to stock 7 river reservoirs of Latvia with Brown Trout fry and 37 release sites have been chosen. Within the four years the trout release sites will remain the same in order to provide natural reproduction after the implementation of the project in specific rivers taking into account the life cycle of Brown Trout.

 According to the order by “Skonto Būve” Brown Trout fry were bred by three Latvian hatcheries – “BIOR” hatchery “Tome”, SIA”Faps” and farm “Sillakas”. The stocking of the rivers with fry is implemented by the association “We – for the fish”.

On 13 August, with the support of Skonto Būve, the second science, music, poetry and visual art event Nature Concert Hall took place in Mērsrags, which this summer is devoted to Fucus vesiculosus.

The Nature Concert Hall event has taken place for the sixth consecutive year. Latvian scientists and musicians talked about Latvian nature, displayed it and sang about it in a popular manner, this time especially emphasising the Baltic Sea and the Fucus vesiculosus inhabiting it, which is a brown perennial seaweed widespread in the sea.

The entertaining and educational event at the Nature Concert Hall took place in three stages. The first stage included creative and informational workshops. One of them was devoted to the most poisonous places in Latvia – the goudron ponds, the treatment of which will be implemented by Skonto Būve. Visitors of the Nature Concert Hall had the opportunity to find out what the goudron ponds are, how they form, why they are dangerous and how their treatment will take place.

At the second part of the event stories were told and poetry read about the Baltic Sea and the Fucus vesiculosus. But the third part was the musical part of the event, in which such popular Latvian musicians as Ingus Ulmanis, Kaspars Tobis, Andris Sējāns, Aigars Voitišķis, Anrijs Grīnbergs, Rūta Muktupāvela and Valdis Muktupāvels participated.

On Saturday, 30 April, the “Lielā Talka” took place in all of Latvia gathering a record number of participants – 190 000 residents of Latvia. In Riga, the cleanup participants collected 175 tons of waste.

Among the most active cleanup participants were also the group organised by the patron of the cleanup, State President Valdis Zatlers, which was represented by three teams – team of the State President, team of the supporter “Skonto Būve” Ltd and team of the organisers of the “Lielā Talka”. Six tons of various waste were collected at the border of Ziepniekkalns forest.

State President admitted that exactly on the day of the cleanup we notice that every year Latvia becomes cleaner and cleaner: “If I want good things to happen with me, then I need to be in a good environment. Last summer and also this spring, when travelling along the districts of Latvia, it is felt that our environment is changing for the good. And it means that something changes for the good in us as well.”

Also, the manager of the “Lielā Talka” movement, Vita Jaunzeme, by joining the invitation of Skonto Būve Ltd to become more environmentally responsible every day, not only on the day of the “Lielā Talka”, admitted that this year cleanup participants had less work and that there wasn’t as much waste now, people are becoming more aware and educated.

At a special occasion in the Ministry of Environment the "Skonto Būve" Ltd signed a construction contract for the implementation of a project “Historically polluted site “Inčukalns sulphuric acid goudron pond” recovery works”.

This is one of the most complicated and unique projects in terms of applicable technologies in the field of the environment not only in Latvia, but also on a scale of the member states of the European Union. The project on the recovery works at the Inčukalns sulphuric acid goudron pond consists of two stages – the implementation of construction and recovery works at the Southern and Northern sulphuric acid goudron ponds. In both cases the goundron ponds pollution infiltration route has fallen into the depth of 70 - 90 meters. The time for the construction works performance is 45 months.

Participating in the tender on the performance of work under the project “ Inčukalns sulphuric acid goudron pond recovery works”, the company "Skonto Būve" in its offer based on the experience of its German subcontractor, which has carried out the recovery of 5 similar ponds in West Germany and in Slovakia.