Nature - thisisFINLAND

Finland’s European Green Capital and Green Leaf cities aim for lasting legacies

Having risen to the challenge of successfully staging a landmark event during a pandemic, the city of Lahti is focused on making a lasting environmental contribution.

Life & society Nature

Everything matters: Volunteering time and talent to help Finland’s environment

From deploying underwater sensors to building nesting sites in the snow for the endangered Saimaa ringed seal, people in Finland contribute their skills to preserve the natural world.

Arts & culture Visual arts

Art in the archipelago: Helsinki Biennial reflects global concerns

Exploring identity, interconnectedness and the ecological crisis, the event’s theme and subtitle, “The Same Sea,” is more relevant than ever in a world marked by a pandemic.

13%

of Finnish forests are protected

Source: Discovering Finland

Life & society Environment

Finnish volunteers make a dent in Baltic Sea plastic pollution

Beach cleaners in the town of Hanko are helping to raise awareness about the perils of plastic and other waste in and around the Baltic.

Life & society Climate

Finnish grannies act to counteract climate change

Twelve Finnish supergrannies have started a social movement that addresses climate change with a message of hope. Their mission is to use “granny wisdom” to teach people that a sustainable life is also a fulfilling one.

200

Number of nights the Northern Lights are visible in Finnish Lapland in a typical year

Life & society Sauna

Unesco highlights the intangible but very real spirit of Finnish sauna culture

“Sauna culture in Finland” is now on the Unesco list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. What does that mean, and what does the sauna represent to Finnish people?

Life & society Environment

Peatland restoration strengthens Finland’s biodiversity

Increased government funding is good news for efforts to restore some of the country’s most widespread and important natural habitats. Put on your boots and step with us into the swamps of the Finnish countryside (article includes slideshow).

Business & innovation Arctic

Climate change doesn’t erase the need for Finnish icebreaker innovations

While climate change is increasingly visible in the decreasing extent of sea ice in the Arctic and the Baltic, conditions are still harsh, and icebreaking ships remain as relevant as ever. We check in with Finland’s Aker Arctic, a major name in the world of icebreakers, to see what it really means to break the ice.

500,400

Number of summer cottages in Finland

Source: Statistics Finland