Reflections from the first Restoration Academy youth camp in the Finnish archipelago

One morning in April, 35 people gathered at the finish harbour of Taalintehdas with backpacks filled with warm, rainproof clothing and rubber boots. After traveling from Greece, Slovakia, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, Estonia, France & the UK, our destination was now only a ferry ride away: The Islands of the southern Finnish archipelago.

It was the beginning of the first youth camp organized by the Restoration Academy, an EU funded project coordinated by five NGO’s to engage young people in nature restoration.

Participants and organisers of this camp travelled far to get to know new habitats in the Finnish archipelago.

Most of us had not met before, but there was time to get to know each other on the ferry while passing through the narrow waterways between the numerous islands in the archipelago national park.

About the islands:

The Finnish archipelago has 40,000 islands. We were fascinated to learn that these islands are still emerging from the sea. With a pace of approximately 40 cm of uplift in 100 years this process has been going on since the end of the last ice age.

Restoration work:

Scandinavian wilderness is often admired, but there are many reasons for nature restoration in the region. Sunlit and semi-open habitats hold 70% of all endangered species in Finland, which makes them vital landscapes for preservation.

Back in the day, wild grazers and animals like cows and sheep maintained these open spaces from shadowing trees. Yet, since a few centuries there have been too few animals to keep the island from overgrowing and the species composition shifted towards a forest. Now specific human action can redirect this development and open up the area again.

The means of achieving this goal seem contradictory: trees and shrubs need to be cut down.

While most of us immediately associated reforestation and tree planting with nature conservation, the idea of ‘clearing’ landscapes was new to us.

After the harvester had cut the biggest stands it was our job to do the final touches manually. We were introduced to the planning process of nature restoration and how different factors have to be balanced to find the right approach for each kind of habitat.

Which areas are possible for restoration? How can we recreate the conditions for the species that we want to support? With which measures can it be implemented? How do we outweigh the harm that it does to the already established landscape? To which state in the landscape's history do we want to restore nature? What do we call pristine?

*On the way to the restoration site on Noströö Island (*photographer *Aino Huotari)*

While walking through the island we began to grasp the time scale in which nature is able to restore and that a moment of controlled destruction can start a long lasting recovery process. We learned that destruction is an inevitable part of the ever changing and evolving processes in ecosystem formation.

When understanding that biodiversity needs destruction to prevail it also puts the human role into a new perspective.

"When i was walking in nature i used to think that I was squashing things and hurting nature in a way. And i had this conversation with ville where he told me that it is basically your contribution to nature by slight disruption and for example giving place to other seeds that were hiding under before. As a human we constantly fear to hurt nature because of how we are present on this earth so it was a way to feel that we have a place and a contribution here as well.” (Holly)

“We often have the impression that as soon as people disappear the landscape will just restore itself. To make it be a place where it can thrive again without humans, you have to backtrack and “fix” something.” (Milan)

“I think everybody should join a restoration camp and you also learn about the TIMESCALE nature lives in. It takes years to become something else.” (Hanna)

While everybody delved right into cutting and clipping, the group effort was quickly visible and we were able to see our mark "and how the restoration area changed during the day!” (Adalmiina no voice message)

“There was this moment at örö, when we were opening up the field again by cutting the junipers and ripping the roots off the ground, there came this robin and he just kind of scavenged through the mosses of the ground and everything that was torn up and mixed up for insects or something. It felt humorous. It just seemed so funny that we have this nature restoration thing and then there comes this individual from nature that was immediately taking advantage of the situation” (Johannes)

The work connected us quickly and as the ferry took us from one island to another, we chatted, reflected, and kept a look out for eagles and seals.

While taking breaks and eating lunch outside everything tasted incredibly delicious and once we had found a nice spot on a mossy hill with a view on the sea the energy was restored quickly. “My favourite activity was definitely eating lunch on the hill that one day! Vegan sausage soup” (Olli)

While days were filled with pulling out Junipers and cutting down spruces, the evenings were there to warm up and connect. We got introduced to Finnish sauna culture, where songs were sung and stories were told, and in between we dipped into the ice cold sea. A night walk provided new perspectives onto life on the island.

“Listening to birds on a moon-lit field in perfect silence... not many experiences can compete with that.” (Elias)

Maybe a new kind of youth camp is on the horizon. A movement of young people coming together in response to our existential concern and the future of our planet.

Eeva: “I felt like i was a member of a team and i also can have a positive impact on nature”

Olli: “Organising restoration camps is important, because knowledge about different ecosystems needs to be spread widely so we can protect nature better 👌