At the end of May, a Forest Day was held in Somero with the participation of the seventh graders of Kiiru secondary school in Somero. The Forest Days are events organised by the 4H Finland and Metsä Group in cooperation with the aim of strengthen the forest relationship of children and young people and increasing their forest knowledge.
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During the day, students can tour with five different activity checkpoints, the themes of which are divided around different forest topics. On the first checkpoint, young people plant tree seedlings themselves with the help of planting tubes. Ella Hamppula from class 7A of Kiiru secondary school, finds the experience interesting, as she has not been able to try planting seedlings before. In addition, Hamppula says that he did not know what kind of tools would be used for planting.
"I thought that seedlings are planted by digging a hole with a shovel, and I didn't know anything about planting tubes – it was nice to learn something new," she adds.
The second checkpoint is used to get acquainted with the measurement of forest growth and the estimation of the age of the tree. Eetu Rajala, also from the 7A class, is surprised by how simple instruments, such as sticks and steps, can be used to measure the forest.
On the third checkpoint, there is lively chatter among the students as they get to reflect on the stages of a wood fibre’s life cycle. Assignment cards provide information about a tree's journey from the forest to various end products – such as cardboard, tissue paper, or even furniture parts.
"It was cool to understand how wood travels from stump to product," says Hamppula, naming the checkpoint the most interesting of the day.
One of the checkpoint leaders, Marie von Martens, Forest Specialist at Metsä Group, finds the day meaningful.
“Forest Days are important because they give young people the opportunity to engage in hands-on activities in the forest.This can ignite a spark to seek employment in the forest sector,” she says, and encourages young people to boldly try summer jobs in the forest sector, for example.
In 2024, Metsä Group hired young planters for the first time for summer jobs. The experiment proved so successful that again this summer young people aged 16-17 were involved in reforestation work all over Finland. During the four-week planting periods, the young people got both their first contact with working life and a great opportunity to get to know the forest area.
Somero Forest Day event venue tells its own story. The checkpoints have been implemented on a forest plot belonging to forest owner Jouni Heinonen and his former spouse. Heinonen describes himself as a barefoot city dweller who has learned the secrets of forestry the hard way. With his experiences, he wants to inspire young people in particular to get to know the forest sector, as it offers valuable opportunities to learn important skills from nature. Heinonen also encourages adults to explore the forest – not only for recreation, but also to deepen their learning and understanding.
Forest Day in Somero offers young people the opportunity to learn and realize things about the forest through practical examples. When schools, organisations and forest owners work together, events arise where knowledge and experience meet. Moments like this can strengthen young people's relationship with nature and spark interest in the forest sector – or at least leave an experience that takes a long time.
Text: Karla Kosunen, Photos: Tiina Rinne/4H
The author has worked as an intern in Metsä Group's communications for the summer.
The article was originally published in Metsä Group Viesti Magazine 3/2025