Spring begins. Winter seining season is coming to a close, winter thunder rattles Karelia, we remember Sharing Circle and look ahead to new rewilding season. First information about the 2024 Festival of Northern Fishing Festival available.
Rare winter thunder rattles North Karelia on 1st April. Snow is still deep but the winter seining is coming to a close. Catches have been low but the team, led by Cpt. Lauri and Karoliina, with Henri, Joni and Allegra have succeeded well. In production, Tytti and the team have produced a wealth of products from the catches. A new canning machine is on its way to the HQ.
As we turn towards the spring, rewilding season is upon us soon. We added a new site close to Jumalissärkkä in Suomussalmi to the Landscape Rewilding Programme adjacent to a large protected area. It is 13 hectares but strategically placed.
The Leväpuro restoration area is located right next to the Jumalsärkä – Hoikansärkä Natura area (FI1200764), which has a total area of 529 hectares. The area is an intact preserved, representative example of the Kainuu longitudinal ridge, its forest nature and the small waters associated with it. The part of the longitudinal ridge forming the Natura boundary is almost 15 km long, and it can be considered as a significant entity both geologically and landscape-wise.
Elsewhere the work on restoration is under way in Valkeasuo, North Karelia as a part of the Koitajoki efforts. Lake erosion project is nearing its end in Sevettijärvi, Sámi area with some final touches expected in Autumn 2024. Louhineva – the largest ptarmigan peatland in Pirkanmaa, Western Finland was formally protected in early March, totaling 86 hectares.
We welcome a new biologist, Cindy Schwenk to lead efforts to support the wild forest reindeer or woodland caribou as it’s known in North America. Cindy has already worked with local communities in Soini and Ähtäri to collect traditional knowledge, ideas and observations from the calving areas close to Matosuo which are novel.
Arctic Passion, the large observations project in the Arctic nears also its completion for Snowchange-related parts. Last October a large body of young scientists and Indigenous leaders gathered in Sevettijärvi and Inari, in the Sámi area to discuss and visit permafrost melt sites, restoration processes and learn from co-management and salmon issues. A new video captures the week and is available here.
In related news, Arctic Passion General Assembly will be held in Inari in June. A large delegation representing Sámi, Gwichin, Finnish and other communities is expected to arrive to discuss the situation of the Arctic environment.
Festival of Northern Fishing Traditions, the fourth of its kind will take place in Ilomantsi and Tohmajärvi, North Karelia, Finland in September 2024. After a few years of hiatus, the Festival is expected to include delegates from Indigenous Taiwanese, Nuu-chah-Nulth, Finnish seining community, Sámi and Greenlandic artisanal and professional fishers. Full programme and news towards summer.
With these news we welcome spring and look to a busy summer ahead!
