Happy New Year! We would like to invite you to take part in Out in the Nature Challenge 2020! We want to encourage everyone to spend more time in the nature. Why? Because being out in the nature reduces stress, makes you feel better, and contributes to your physical well-being. Finnish nature has a lot to offer so we thought to offer a helping hand to even the most experienced nature travellers because sometimes everyone needs fresh inspiration for exploring the nature. Hopefully this inspires you to try new things and most of all, enjoy what is around us in this amazing country. Let us know if you participate on this challenge!
Out in the Nature Challenge 2020
Here are 20 things to do out in the nature for everyone, regardless of the previous experience or fitness level:
- Visit one of Finland’s 40 national parks
- Walk on duckboards
- Go birdwatching
- Pick up wild berries or mushrooms
- Spot wild animal tracks
- Walk on a frozen lake
- Swim in a lake, river, or sea
- Look for “old man’s beard” lichen or usnea in a forest
- Visit giant’s kettles
- Go cross-country skiing
- Find your balance on a stand up paddle board
- Pick up trash from the nature
- Find a geocache
- Capture a stunning fall foliage photo
- Visit the Finnish archipelago
- Have a mindful moment in the nature
- Visit a historical site in the nature
- Learn to spot a glacial erratic rock
- Visit whitewater rapids in late spring to marvel at their strength
- Ask a Finn to teach you how to make a bath broom (vihta or vasta) for sauna, relax in a Finnish sauna, and remember to use your vihta.
The following 20 things are slightly more demanding for those who need a bigger challenge:
- Hike up a fell
- Admire the Northern Lights
- Catch a fish
- Cook lunch at a fireplace (and possibly chop firewood for the next visitor)
- Go iceskating on a frozen lake
- Go iceswimming
- Visit rock paintings
- Gather wild herbs
- Go snowshoeing
- Go canoeing
- Volunteer in a nature conservation project
- Hide a geocache
- Capture a stunning wild animal photo
- Visit a lighthouse island
- Visit a Finnish UNESCO site
- Relax in a traditional Finnish smoke sauna and improve your blood circulation with a good swim or by rolling in snow after sauna
- Sleep a night in a lean-to or in a goahti (teepee)
- Go winter-cycling on a fatbike
- Do some orienteering
- Prepare traditional Finnish crĂŞpes (lettu) on a flat iron griddle pan (muurinpohjapannu) outdoors.
Are you up for the challenge and aim to complete all 20+20 within year 2020? Below you can see some of our favourite pictures relating to some of our suggestions and seasons. Have fun!
