The forest, which is called Sammalinen, was for sale through a real estate agent, and we managed to receive it after a tough competitive bidding. We closed the deal in late November.

As for all the forests owned by the foundation in Southern Finland, Sammalinen is one of those that are clearly lying in their natural state. The deal was also about making a great territorial conquest in the Jokioinen region, where forests have not been protected much. Sammalinen is a rather closed forest, the ground of which is covered with fallen, decaying trees. Besides spruces, the forest is made up of pines standing tall in the western part of the area.

The only human tracks in the forest are a shallow ditch that is about to become overgrown by a little swamp in the heart of the forest – this ditch can easily be blocked if there is a need to restore the original nature of the swamp – and a forest road that goes through the forest and has started resembling a path. There are no man-made tree stumps. The forest has been growing in peace for a long time, several decades, and therefore, there is plenty of decaying wood to be found there – when there was a tree stand evaluation conducted, it was estimated that there were 14 cubic metres of decayed spruces in the forest, which was quite exceptional. Gauging with one’s eye, the amount could be even larger.

There are small rock formations that turn into cliffs in some places forming an interesting feature in the forest. On the edges of these formations, one can see aspens and birches growing among the conifers. The largest trees can be found on the southern border of the area with a gigantic pine standing dead among the other trees.