Welcome to the wild – an overnight trip to the Oravasuo peatland in Ähtäri.
Oravasuo is Baltic Circle’s nature restoration and rewilding location, a new performance setting and ecological community. The area is home to golden bog-moss, the golden eagle, and the willow grouse. The area is also a passageway for elk, deer, bears and wolves. Further south, native brown trout stock has been observed in the same basin.
The festival’s first field trip to Oravasuo serves as the opening of the collaboration between Baltic Circle and the Snowchange Cooperative, which began in 2020, with the aim of restoring Oravasuo and the connected peatland areas of Siltaneva and Rasinneva by August 2022. The peatland and its neighbouring estate called Vanha Väätänen – inhabited since 1565 – are apt settings to hold a discussion on climate change and actions required to address it.
In November, the bog falls into winter sleep. We walk in small groups, listen in on the surroundings, and get to know the peatland as well as each other. The guides on the trip are nature photographer and author Eero Murtomäki, who has documented peatlands in Finland’s South Ostrobothnia region, lecturer Tero Mustonen who is one of the main editors of the sixth IPCC climate report of the UN, as well as M.Sc. (Geography) Kaisu Mustonen, who is specialised in the knowledge held by women about the development of environmental diversity. The discussion will be moderated by the Skolt Sámi theatre and film director and activist Pauliina Feodoroff.
There is a bus transfer to the event and the accommodation is provided by standard military-style tents, which are located next to a campfire. You will need a woolen layer, rain cover, beanie and gloves, a flashlight or headlamp, a sleeping bag and pad, and personal sauna and overnight supplies. The peatland has moist and tricky terrain; come prepared with sturdy, waterproof shoes. During the trip, everyone takes part in the daily chores: setting the table, erecting and preparing the tents, heating up the sauna.
Wild Trippers is a new multi-year project of the Baltic Circle, which focuses on the dissemination of progressive environmental information and the strengthening of social community in the fight against climate change. It encourages everyday environmental activism by inviting individuals and communities to participate in easy-access activities and to share observations. Wild Trippers is a parallel activity of the landscape rewilding programme managed by the Snowchange Cooperative.