I have always thought of wood as one of the most fascinating products nature has to offer.
The forests which surround my home are of immense value. Learning to appreciate and perhaps even more important, protecting them should be a priority for us all. Thanks to my wonderful job, as guitar builder, I spend a lot of time wandering around local forests. I walk for hours looking for the right tree, the right wood, the most suitable one to be used for my instruments.
One day, a very strange thing happened to me. I became the Godfather of a tall, old red fir tree. This happened in spring 2003 when I was looking for big tree. Unfortunately all the ones I could find were too small. So I decided to contact the Mayor of one of the remote villages in the Prags Valley. He told me about a particular tree and asked me if I wanted to see it. I agreed immediately.

After a short walk there I was. Right in front of it in an area called Seewald, at about 1500m altitude. It was a huge red fir about 250 years old, measuring 48 m in height, 3.32 m in diameter and about 19.5 m³ of wood. I was both impressed and excited.

On the other hand, thinking that one day this wonderful tree had to be cut down, made me feel sad.

This was when I had the idea of taking the tree under my personal protection. I informed
the village council as well as the local Forestry Authorities about my plans. Everyone was happy with the idea.

From that moment on I was seen as the "godfather" of this century-old red fire. I was very happy about what I had achieved and took on this role “officially” in 2005 when the village council, representatives from the Forestry Authorities, my friends and I (not forgetting the local priest who blessed the tree) met around the tree. It was one of the most moving moments of my life. Whenever commitments allow I visit my tree and I am impressed over and over by its overwhelming greatness.

If, by taking on this unusual role I have been able to make someone somewhere think about our responsibility for the protection of the environment then I have achieved more than I ever expected.