The village of Matkantaka in Hämeenlinna is the home of the foundation’s smallest forest area called Lukko. It is only about three hectares, and we managed to receive it in September 2012.

However, the environment is labelled by exuberance and diversity in the forest. In the middle, there are old spruces growing in the mossy ground with a little bog in the northern part of the forest. The southern part is dominated by a cliff in a northwest-southeast direction with some lime trees giving their extra touch to the forest at the foot of the cliff. As we move closer to the cliff, we see deciduous trees growing in a damp soil dominating that part of the area.

Placing the forest under protection was a wise move also from the location’s perspective – the forest is standing in an uninhabited area between Lake Ilmoilanselkä and the Vuolijoki River in what used to be called the Lahonmaa area located in the forest zone shared by the local villages.

The old name, Lukko, will remain. The people of the Häme region have also called kettles formed by retreating glaciers as well as cliffs with the same name during the course of history. This is the 33rd conservation area we have managed to establish in the country and the eighth one in the Häme region.