What’s New

The Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation, which promotes the protection of Finnish nature, is concerned about the slow progress of forest protection in Finland. The situation is illustrated well by the fact that the Foundation is not even able to acquire and protect all the areas of old forest that are for sale publicly. The main challenge is the lack of funding.

The Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation has received a forest from Southwest Finland, which will be renamed Tapsunkolkka. The fourteen-hectare area formerly known as Sepänpelto is located in Aura, 25 kilometres northeast of Turku.

The Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation has launched a fundraising campaign to protect a forest known as Raakkumetsä. The aim is to protect an old forest in the drainage area of a river which is home to the freshwater pearl mussel, raakku in Finnish.

The Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation has received a donation of a herb-rich forest in a natural state in Padasjoki. The forest is located northwest of the centre of Padasjoki, near the western shore of lake Kirkkolammi. The protected area will be known as Tuomilehto.

The Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation has recently purchased a forest in the village Marttila in Lohja which will be protected and give the name Haviseva.

The Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation has purchased a valuable forest for conservation on the Aholansaari island in lake Syväri in Nilsiä. This is the largest purchase ever made by the Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation.

The Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation has purchased considerable additional areas of land and increased the size of its existing conservation areas.

The Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation has recently purchased two forest properties, consisting of 16 hectares of old forest, in South Karelia with the aim of turning them into conservation areas.

he fundraising campaign organised by the Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation and the Foundation of August Ludvig Hartwall to establish and protect a Children’s Forest was completed successfully regarding the forest purchase. The fundraising campaign was launched in May 2021, and the purchase of a property named Arola in Suomussalmi was completed at the end of December.

The Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation has bought an old forest at Nuutajärvi in Urjala which will be called Hiidenkivenkorpi. The 12-hectare forest is covered in trees throughout, as it has not been touched for a hundred years, other than to clear windthrows. 

The Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation teamed up with Salon luonnonmetsäsäätiö, a foundation for conserving indigenous forests in Salo, to purchase a small area of dense forest known as Syrjämetsä. It is located just outside the city of Salo, in the valley to the southwest of Ketunpesäkallio.

Last summer, the Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation was able to purchase a forest area in southern Pirkanmaa which will be named Myllyniitty. The area is located in Paino in Valkeakoski and reaches all the way to the shores of lake Painonjärvi. The conservation area, which measures just under 15 hectares, includes a beautiful little stream from Iso Leppäjärvi to Painonjärvi. The first part of the stream has many small, gushing rapids – at times the drop in the terrain can be more than 20 metres.

Last summer, the Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation was able to purchase a forest area in southern Pirkanmaa which will be named Myllyniitty. The area is located in Paino in Valkeakoski and reaches all the way to the shores of lake Painonjärvi. The conservation area, which measures just under 15 hectares, includes a beautiful little stream from Iso Leppäjärvi to Painonjärvi. The first part of the stream has many small, gushing rapids – at times the drop in the terrain can be more than 20 metres.

In early May the Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation bought the old Mukkavaara forest in Vuotso in Sodankylä. The area, measuring 88 hectares in total, consists of two parcels of land. The larger plot, at 67 hectares, has a direct border with Sompio Strict Nature Reserve, which was founded in 1956. The distance from Mukkavaara forest to Tankavaara Gold Village is seven kilometres, and the distance to Urho Kekkonen National Park is three kilometres.

This past summer several natural areas of different types were donated to the Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation.

he Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation has protected a forest ravaged by a thunderstorm in Hannusranta in Kajaani. The conservation area, which was named Paatsamakorpi, was hit by a strong downburst in June 2020, which left the forest with hundreds of cubic metres of windthrow. The moist mixed forest is over a hundred years old and now covers over 10.5 hectares.

The Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation has purchased an area of dense forest in Marttila, Southwest Finland, which will be designated as a permanently protected area. The original name of the area, Palomäki, will be changed to Kaunilanmaa according to the wishes of the previous owners of the estate.

Pentti Linkola’s memorial forest will be founded in Riuttasalo in Toivakka, which is located in Central Finland near Päijänne, as a joint purchase by the Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation and Päijänne Natural Heritage Foundation. Kurikanvuori in Sahalahti, in Kangasala in the Pirkanmaa region, will be protected as Pertti Linkola’s memorial grove.

The Natural Heritage Foundation has recently purchased a handsome forest in Somero in Southwest Finland. Pyysmäki forest is located in the most south-westerly part of the southern boreal coniferous zone in Southwestern Häme. The eight-hectare forest consists mostly of spruce-dominated fresh heath of the bilberry type, with tall pines, old silver birch, and thick aspen.

The Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation, the societies Etelä-Savon lintuharrastajat Oriolus ry, Itä-Savon luonnonsuojeluyhdistys ry and Kangasniemen Luonto ry, as well as Keep the Archipelago Tidy and the South Savo district of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation launched a campaign in July 2021 with the aim to find and protect a home for the golden oriole in the forests of South Savo.