The Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation managed to receive its fourth conservation area in Central Finland when a man named Samuli Hintikka decided to sell us his family forest of over seven hectares in the eastern part of Konnevesi.

The Linnunlaulu forest is located in the village of Kärkkäiskylä in Konnevesi. The forest is mostly a heath forest dominated by spruces, in some parts over a hundred years old.

The forest rises to the east and northeast of the isthmus between the Papulammit lakes, and where the heath is drier, the pine becomes the dominant tree. Even though we are dealing with a forest that is old and intact, the terrain that is partly very stony reduces the magnificence of the place.

There are deciduous trees contributing to the diversity of the Linnunlaulu forest. The west end provides room for birches and aspens growing in a brook hollow that unites the Papulampi lakes in an area where the forest looks like a primeval grove. The number of deciduous trees is extraordinarily large in the easternmost section of the place. Thus, it is no wonder that the flying squirrel has been detected there.

Samuli Hintikka is someone who is familiar with the history of the forest, dating back over a hundred years. At the beginning of the 20th century, there was a brush fire that left burned tree stumps and burn damages on the bark of the trees, something that can still be seen. One third of the forest has remained intact since the wildfire. Forests that are allowed to grow naturally in places that have once been burned are especially significant for nature’s diversity.

It was Samuli Hintikka and his wife Marja who wanted to call the forest Linnunlaulu (“Bird Song”), and we have decided to preserve the name. The forest is located on both sides of the old road between Vaasa and Kuopio. The road is no longer used very much; in fact, it is turning into a nature trail for the villagers of Hytölä.

Linnunlaulu is the 43rd conservation area of the foundation, the fourth one in Central Finland.

Photo: Olavi Virtanen.