Forest  National Parks

Scheduled species in Scotland are ten per Euro in Finland! Capercaillie, Black Grouse, Black and Red-throated divers, Osprey, White-tailed Eagle. we saw them all and with some ease in and around the Finnish National Parks – thanks in no small part to the efforts of our knowledgeable and energetic guides for the week, Suvi Paukku and Tomi Honkavaara. The Fins have to put up with the westward spreading population of an animal called the raccoon dog: a species hitherto unknown to a certain Scottish Countryside Ranger when confronted by a flattened corpse by the side of the road near our lakeside chalet! They use underground burrows and have a nearby latrine somewhat akin to our own badger. They are unpopular and hunted, I gather.

     Wetland

At Evo, we were taken to visit a beaver dam (b.t.w.: Finland has both European and American beavers thanks to an early reintroduction effort when it was not realized that the two were substantially different species!). My one regret was that I neglected to bring a telescope on my visit. The viewing tower at Lake Puurijärvi was superb but the distances involved called for bird ID skills beyond my ability at times (particularly as we were dealing with some hitherto unobserved species such as red-necked grebe). Bittern were often heard, we even had one calling at the edge of the lake beside our chalet! Perhaps the best birdwatching of the trip was at a flooded corner of a field at a secret location (OK, I admit it, I have no idea where we were at that point…) where we were able to watch knot, green sandpiper, ruff in breeding plumage etc.

                                                                                                         Beaver Dam

As in Scotland (but perhaps more recently?) large numbers of people have been moving out of rural areas into the cities. As a consequence, just as in this country, there is a need to bring Finnish children back into contact with the great outdoors. Wilderness Guide, Liisa Tyllilä told us, on the way to visit Seitseminen National Park, about the changes in her home area (she too has gone to live in the city!) where the population has dropped from 5,000 to 2,500 inhabitants. Where there once were 10 village schools, now there are only 3. Since Finland joined the European Union, there has been a big drop in the number of small farms as a consequence of the Common Agricultural Policy. She remarked that at one point there were about 7,000 Finnish farmers 
giving up their farms per annumn!

Bird watching tower at Lake Puurijarvi

           Hunting, shooting, fishing

(some notes from a talk by Martti Kolkka at Häme University of Applied Sciences). For more information, visit www.rktl.fi/english/game and for photos, see www.luontokuva.org

Moose (European Elk) hunting is the most important. Populations are studied using Animal Track Index (a technique introduced from Russia) in winter snow conditions. Planes are often used to study them. Herd size in Finland ~ 40 animals. In Lapland, herd sizes in the 100s are found. In Finland population densities vary from between 2.5 and 4 per ha with the highest densities found in the middle of the country.

Bear: There are about 850 (brown) bears in Finland. 100 Euro will buy a licence to hunt one.

Wolf: There are 35-40 packs, with about 4-6 animals per pack.

Wolverine: ~ 150 in all of Finland. They are hunted in reindeer herding areas.

Lynx: concentrated in south– about 1200 in Finland.

Capercaillie: between 0.5 and 2.5 million in Finland. Population stable over last 10 years.                               

Black grouse: ~ 10/km²

Ptarmigan: The population centre is moving north. Drainage of peatland is associated with decline in population in south Finland.

• Everyman’s right                                                          Chris, Helen and Adam get a close look at a bear 

The pamphlet, “Everyman’s right in Finland” sets down rules for public access to the countryside and makes for interesting comparison with our own (somewhat younger) Scottish Outdoor Access Code. According to this age-old concept, “ Everyone is basically entitled to walk, ski, cycle or ride freely in the countryside, as long as this causes no harm to property or nature.” Some of the laws come as no surprise in a country of lakes and forests such as ”Camp fires or other similar fires must not be lit in or near forests when conditions, due to drought or other factors, are such that there is a danger of forest fire)”.: (The Fire and Rescue Services Act 559/1975, Section 25). The closing notes sound very familiar: ‘’The extent to which everyman’s right applies in practice depends on the circumstances, and there may be differences of interpretation between landowners and people using their rights. Both parties have rights and responsibilities. Consideration for other people is paramount here, and differences of opinion can usually be sorted out through amicable discussion. The use of threats and illegal obstacles is prohibited, and the police may be called upon to resolve more serious conflicts.’’

• Forest-farm tourism                                                                                                                                              

We were made to feel very much at home on the farm of Mikko Lindell who came out of National Service at the age of 21 and bought Mäkelä Farm in Jäminkipohja. Since then he has brought up a family and built up a diverse range of enterprises on the farm: from holiday chalets by the lake to forest trails and traditional farmhouse cooking served up in the traditionally vast Finnish farm living room accompanied by accordion music by the host himself.

• Camp-fire and coffee

Something we experienced many times in our trip to Finland (at Mäkelä Farm for example) was the

provision of elaborate open air and log cabin housed cooking facilities. Words just cannot do them                                                              Mekela Log Cabin

justice but a visit to this website http://www.kotakeittio.fi/eng/?ID=1433 will let you see something of

the amount of thought that has gone into these wood-fired contraptions. Such facilities are common

along the hiking trails in Finland (see http://www.visitfinland.com/W5/uk/index.nsf/

(Pages)/Hiking_Areas?opendocument&np=B-40.10 )

 

         Mikkelo gets coffee ready in Mekela log Cabin

        Strict Nature Reserves

Occasional mention was made of Strict Nature Reserves in Finland so I checked the internet for more information. There are 19 such areas in Finland. “Strict nature reserves are established by law or by statute for the purpose of research.

They are located on state-owned lands and are primarily reserved for the purposes of nature conservation and research. They are also used for teaching purposes, if these do not compromise nature conservation in the area.

Strict nature reserves are conserved in their natural state so that researchers would be able to compare these with other areas and determine how many of nature's changes are natural instead of having been caused directly by man.

For the most part, strict nature reserves are closed to the public. The conservation regulations in strict nature reserves are stricter than in national parks.

All nineteen strict nature reserves of Finland are managed by Metsähallitus.

Entering strict nature reserves is usually forbidden unless you have written permit. Permits are only granted for research.

It is possible to walk along marked trails in a few strict nature reserves”            .

(above text from http://www.metsa.fi/page.asp?Section=2792 )

Comparing Finland with Scotland

Living in a crofting community and working as a Countryside Ranger on the Isle of Skye, Finnish legislation on the behaviour of dogs in the countryside came as a breath of fresh air. “Dogs must be kept on a lead unless the landowner or the holder of the hunting rights to the land gives permission.” Dogs are a menace to stock (we ourselves have lost numerous sheep, lambs and hens to the predations of uncontrolled dogs).They are also a danger to ground nesting birds of all kinds, those on the shore being particularly prone to interference. All I can say is ”If the Fins can do it, so can we”.

Having come straight from largely treeless Skye, I was at once struck by the extent of forest in Finland. It was a long time before we saw any farm animals at all in our many journeyings and I only saw sheep once! However, the trip back from Edinburgh by bus to Inverness and train to Kyle reminded me that we have a good deal of forest cover in this country too. It is just a shame that so much of it is not native and largely lacks the range of once-native wildlife which many of us see as desirable.

We do not have any “Strict Nature Reserves” in Scotland. Perhaps we should establish some!

                                                                                                                                                              Anemone nemoros
A few things to bring home from Finland

Some Moomin memorabilia (I already had all of the books at home so I made do with a ‘Little My’ keyring for my daughter - like all of my family - an avid Moonin fan;

Saltliquorice.

A bottle of pine tar (good forprotection of wooden boats, skis etc.; rust prevention; splashing on sauna stones to produce pleasant and envigorating vapours and a dozen other things. You can drink it (as tar schnapps) or eat it as tar liquorice;

Some exquisitely patterned and finely woven Finnish linen.

A special pan for making pancakes on an open fire.

A dry toilet (see http://www.drytoilet.org/ for the low-down on the Finnished product).

Lastly if you have not come across any Finnish music, check this website (Frigg) http://www.myspace.com/friggtheband or that of Esko Jarvela http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=160670659 and have a listen to some contemporary Finnish fiddling!

                                                                                           Some comments on Nature Exchange

Tomi and Suvi our hosts
What a wonderful opportunity this was. I am extremely grateful for having been given the chance to see a part of the world I might never have otherwise and which I now know I must visit again! Our guides and hosts Tomi Honkavaara and Suvi Paukku were most indulgent of our wants and put together a superb tour covering a wide cross section of environmental issues – from dry toilets to high tech atmospheric monitoring at the SMEAR II station (see http://www.atm.helsinki.fi/SMEAR/index.php?action=4 ) for more details). In our spare moments, they drove us round National Parks galore and we got to see wildlife we would have had to travel a long way to see in the UK: from Labrador Tea to Marsh Harriers. I saw my first Herb Paris in Finland - something I have been looking for in long-lost Scottish locations for years (I finally tracked some down in flower back here on Skye on my return though) and dare I admit it, my first Betula nana (OK, I know it grows on Ben Wyvis – I have just never got around to going there... We saw Common Crane in their hundreds, still on migration north to breed. In the evenings we rowed on the lake and (some of us…) swam there too after the inevitable sauna. Superb! I only hope that if those Fins ever come to see what Scotland has to offer, we can do them as proud.

Lastly my grateful thanks to Libby Urquhart and the staff at archnetwork for enabling me to visit Finland and to the Highland Council for granting me leave to go!

 

 

John Phillips is the Senior Countryside Ranger,

The Highland Council Ranger Service,

Broadford,

Isle of Skye,

IV49 9AB