Fungi and Beetles in Buildings on Islands of Baltic Sea

Closed

The project is aimed at the preservation of wooden buildings and structures on islands of the Baltic Sea and in coastal regions through improving the awareness of local inhabitants and specialists about the damage caused by fungi and beetles as well as the introduction of new environment-friendly and sustainable methods. The project guarantees jobs for wooden construction masters and small entrepreneurs in the region and increases the value of the real estate in private ownership. Within the framework of the project, churches on Ruhnu and Vormsi Islands are treated to limit the spread of beetle damage, research is done in this particular sphere and teaching materials are worked out to increase awareness in the sphere and to develop it further on. WP1 is aimed at coordinating work between partners and project management. It guarantees logistic solutions and procurement management as well as financial calculations and reporting. WP2 is aimed at finding wooden buildings damaged by fungal decay and beetles and monitoring and investigating them on the islands and in coastal regions. As a comparison, five buildings are selected on the mainland and fieldwork is carried out in a settlement with timber structures on Kishi Island, Carelia. A laboratory is established in Estonia to investigate fungal and beetle damage. The establishment of the laboratory enables the specialists in this sphere to continue work on this subject. On islands of the Baltic Sea wood-damaging beetles are investigated also in forest areas in order to determine natural background to the beetles spreading in buildings. Within the framework of WP3, environmental-friendly and sustainable methods are worked out for treating timber structures and buildings. In order to check the efficiency of the method, treatment is carried out in churches on Ruhnu and Vormsi Islands. Scientific articles and conference papers are written on the basis of research. Within WP4 thirty-six trainings, seminars and workshops are run for specialists, entrepreneurs, heritage protectors, representatives of local authorities and property owners. Three books are published. Numerous teaching materials are worked out, incl. three educational films. Altogether, 1000 specialists and property owners are planned to be educated in the region. Within the framework of WP5 foundation is laid for establishing a research and training centre of rural architecture at the Estonian Open Air Museum (EOAM), which guarantees sustainable development in the studies of timber structures and buildings and also provides teaching materials and books after the termination of the project. By the end of the project the preservation of wooden buildings, including culturally valuable ones, on the islands and in coastal regions is granted.

Medium