Snowchange participates in a Nordic project to support Polish and Ukrainian efforts to boost restoration in the region. A recent field visit collected experts from three countries and saw the release of the much-anticipated “Peatland Restoration Atlas” developed by Snowchange for the partners.

The Nordic Council funded project “Nature-based solutions in open wetlands restoration for biodiversity, water quality improvement and climate mitigation” has partners in Poland, Ukraine and Finland. It is coordinated by Ogólnopolskie Towarzystwo Ochrony Ptaków – OTOP, a birding organization from Poland.

Snowchange helped to develop the “Peatland Restoration Atlas” for the Ukrainian and Polish partners. On a recent field visit several restoration sites were discussed between project partners, and the trip included visits to Bagno Bubnów meadow restoration, Holeszów re-wetting site and several more including national parks in Poland. 

The Atlas itself contains already the first mapped sites and includes for example highlights such as

Haidamatske Swamp Nature reserve

The Haidamatske Swamp Reserve, covering 751.7 hectares in the Zheryvskyi and Obukhivetskyi forestry districts, holds both natural and historical significance. It served as a shelter for Haidamaka bands in the 18th century and later for partisans during wartime conflicts. The reserve features mixed pine-oak forests, raised bogs, and a diverse array of plant and animal species, including rare and protected flora like Pasque flower and Early-purple orchid, and fauna such as the European pond turtle and the Eurasian lynx. The area is home to unique ecosystems, including sphagnum bogs, but faces potential threats from logging and drainage. Efforts are underway to monitor and protect this important site through ongoing Environmental Impact Assessments.

Irdyn Swamp

Irdyn Swamp, located in Ukraine’s Cherkasy region, is a crucial wetland ecosystem that shelters a wide variety of protected species. The swamp, which was historically used for peat extraction, is now a candidate for national park status due to its biodiversity. It is home to rare species such as the red-bellied toad (Bombina bombina), white stork (Ciconia ciconia), Apollo butterfly (Parnassius mnemosyne), and the large oak longhorn beetle (Cerambyx cerdo). In total, over 250 populations of protected species have been recorded here, with many listed in the Red Book of Ukraine and the IUCN Red List. Since 2019, the Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group has been advocating for the establishment of the “Irdynske” National Nature Park, which will play a key role in preserving these species and the natural heritage of the region.

The project will conclude in the Autumn with further reporting on results of the Atlas.

April is here and this means the end of the seining season. Late spring brought large peatlands to the rewilding program and several international visits and summits.

During the winter over 550 hectares of Arctic Circle peatlands were included into the Landscape Rewilding Program including Korppiaapa in Sodankylä and Miehinkäaapa in Salla. Both are critically important peatland-forest ecosystems and complement existing large conservation areas.

Winter seining season is closing in Puruvesi. Captain Karo has led the team through an intense winter fishery and given the warm temperatures at present we expect the season to close a bit early in April. Thank you to the whole team! Spring fisheries will commence in May.

March was a time of international summits and meetings. Noora was over in UNESCO discussing climate change and restoration priorities in Paris. Kaisu participated in the World Forum 2025 together with VIPs and leaders around the world including Hillary and Bill Clinton. A large community tour of the Pacific concluded this week with visits to Australia, Solomon Islands and delegates from Vanuatu participated also in Honiara, Aotearoa and finally an extensive visit to the Indigenous communities of Taiwan, the expected site of the Festival of Northern Fishing Festival 2026. Thank you all for the amazing times and discussions that will frame the Pacific work for the next 5 years!

Snowchange delegates are headed over to the South Pacific for a widest ranging tour of the region in five years. Visits will include Indigenous Australian communities, Solomon Islands, Aotearoa and Taiwan. In Finland warm winter continues but seining is still going strong as the ice conditions are excellent.

March is here and the first Pacific tour in five years is on. Snowchange delegates will visit several strategically important locations to reflect and decide on the next priorities and steps in the region. The tour will commence in Wet Tropics of Australia with the Indigenous Australian partners from Firesticks.

Moving on to Solomon Islands a Snowchange meeting will be held with communities from Hawaii, Vanuatu, the Solomons on the priorities of the support for small island communities for the next while. A special focus will be on traditional navigation and revitalization of voyaging.

In Aotearoa visits will be made with the Maori first on the South Island. Then moving to Taranaki, we will discuss issues of ecosystem restoration and Maori knowledge and explore the next priority areas of the region. Steering Committee members will exchange on the future of the small grants program.

Heading to Taiwan we will visit a range of Indigenous coastal communities to review the steps for the 2026 Festival of Northern Fishing Traditions slated for the island. Discussions on collaborations of marine and fisheries traditions concludes the tour.

In Finland winter seining continues. Catches have been varied but next week its all-staff day on the ice with Swiss-French guests from the European ICCA network. Production of canned vendace is expected to commence in the next few weeks. As we head to boreal spring more updates in April on science, community work and rewilding sites.

Today all of Snowchange is in shock. Chief Edwin Ogar of Ekuri in Nigeria has passed away earlier today. We join the family and community in mourning this remarkable leader.

Snowchange and the Ekuri have been collaborating for over a decade. The original connection was formed at the World Parks Congress in Australia in 2014. Over the years Snowchange has been supporting community-based conservation, research and efforts to highlight the life work of Chief Ogar and protection of Ekuri forest.

In 2020 he led efforts to argue for community-based conservation in One Earth science article. This research work has close to 100 citations in scientific literature. Chief Ogar was recognized with several global awards for his lifework.

Snowchange conveys our condolences to the Ekuri community and Chirf Ogars family at this time of great loss.

February has begun with a very large peatland-forest complex of Korppiaapa joining the Landscape Rewilding Programme. In other news microplastics work is in the news in the US, Tahltan Event Database is highlighted in the High North and seining continues. March will bring a Pacific tour.

Korppiaapa, a significant relatively intact peatland at the Arctic Circle region in Sodankylä, Finland joined the rewilding work in late January. It is a 347 hectare (850 acre) ecosystem significant for its biodiversity and other qualities. It will be one of the landscapes involved in the Climate Breakthrough work that commenced in January. Other important sites for January included peatlands in Sotkamo for support of the wild forest reindeer and Kuosku intact north boreal forest.

A set of news items has highlighted the science and Indigenous knowledge news – Mongabay the portal for environmental news recently summarized the microplastics work with the Skolt Sámi. High North News reported on the Tahltan Event Database.

Winter seining is under way in Puruvesi. In the Snowchange fisheries crew Karoliina Lehtimäki will assume leadership position from mid-February onwards. Looking towards rest of the winter and early spring, a tour of the Pacific will commence in March with visits across the region.