Our Path - Meijän polku
(EN) Guest blog from Juho Jäppinen, physiotherapist at city activist Meijän polku, Jamk
Our Path (Meijän polku) was founded in Jyväskylä, Central Finland, in the fall of 2017 and is driven by a network of individuals working in the fields of healthcare, education and exercise. From its conception, the group has been motivated to creatively test and plan new concepts and ideas that will enhance the wellbeing and health of the population of the area. In practice, Our Path has developed almost a dozen projects to achieve this, varying from balance training for the elderly and annual orientation events on the trails of Central Finland, to providing examples for “active” and “outdoor” meetings with a Finnish version of Outdoor Office day called Luontotyöpäivä (“Work in nature day”). Here is a presentation of a few of these concepts which aim to increase physical and emotional well-being through a stronger connection to nature for Central Finns, and to an increasing extent, everyone beyond.
Luontopysäkit (Nature Stops)
The Luontopysäkit (Nature Stops) concept connects the wonderful nature sites in the city of Jyväskylä, with the existing public transportation system and the city’s residents. This initiative was launched in the beginning of the summer 2020 in cooperation with the city and the public transportation organization, Linkki.
The main goal of this project was to lower the threshold for accessing nature trails, by bringing attention to how close and abundant these trails are, all around the city without the use of a car. “Did you know that with the bus that passes your home, you can access 5 different nature sites with great walking trails, fire pits and other natural commodities within just 5 to 30 minutes travel time?” The local buses in Jyväskylä plan to make 15 million trips annually by 2030. If one percent of these trips are done by people going to the city’s nature sites, we have succeeded in our mission as well.
Image: From home to nature with public transportation. The Nature Stop map of the City of Jyväskylä, with its main public transportation lines and nature sites that have various trails and other opportunities to enjoy larger nature areas.
Central Finland Trail Week
Central-Finland Trail Week was founded in September 2020. Covid19 was back after a brief summer break and most of the indoor activities were yet again canceled. We needed to get people outside, in nature and to be more physically active in attempt to reverse some of the ill effects of sedative solitude caused by the Covid restrictions. We looked out the window, and the nature trails were just there!
We began by advertising the (almost) endless possibilities of Central Finland's nature trails. The events of the Trail Week are organized by various contributors all around the Central Finland region, from schools, organizations, sport clubs, and municipalities. At the same time, local people on the trails share their adventures and experiences on social media and thereby bring more attention to outdoor lifestyles and local possibilities.
Luontotyöpäivä (Outdoor office day)
During the winter 2020-2021, Finns continued working from home and continued the trend of inactivity caused by the home-office phenomenon. Previously people would get a bit of physical activity and fresh air just by going to work, having lunch in a near-by café and going to meetings in different parts of the office. At home this was all packed inside 60 square meters and for many, the daily step-count was starting to sink under 1,000. That is a great amount of steps: for toddlers and seniors over 100, that is. Not so much for people in their twenties, forties, and sixties, etc. This observation emphasized the need to activate home-office workers and people more generally, trapped in zoom-meetings. To counter sedative work, we introduced the ‘Luontotyöpäivä’ (work in nature day) initiative. The first Luontotyöpäivä was held in May 2021. The idea was very well received, and people all around Finland headed out to nature during their work day.
In the early spring of 2022 we were connected by Outdoor Office Day initiators in the Netherlands, and we started to plan some fun activities for the next summer…But before that, please take your business outside to enjoy the Finnish Luontotyöpäivä on the 20th of May. It’s a nice pre-party and test for the June 16th event!
We do work outside all year around. This outdoor office, or snow office, was built in the yard of the University of Applied Sciences in Jyväskylä, Finland by Meijän polku activists. The first official meeting was indeed a cool event.
Lähiluonto (urban nature)
Lately, our attention has been focused on urban nature, because urban nature is the future for the health and well being of the citizens. In the fall of 2021 we built an information bank to share ideas and concepts about urban nature and different ways cities, communities and people can use local nature for the health and well-being of all. The site contains basic information about health and other beneficial effects of nature, including ideas for spending time or exercising in nature. We share ideas for different age groups from kindergarten children to elders and everyone in between. The site also covers information on how to build and maintain trails.
We believe that continuous or frequent contact is the key for a better connection with nature. When you are comfortable in your local environment through various seasons and weather, you will become more aware of its benefits and you will become more willing to see some effort to maintain and protect it.
Urban nature is where it’s at. Urban nature is accessible for almost all of us in one form or another. Is it a small park, your own yard, flowers on your balcony or a green street through your neighborhood. You decide and make it your special place to spend some time daily.
So, what is the ‘philosopher's Stone’ that we have gained during the last four years on Our Path? Here are some thoughts:
Have a vision! How do you get there, if you don’t know where you are going?
Lead the way! World is full of people who can tell you what to do, but only few who will lead the way. Be a leader.
Be present: Do it where you are. If you need to travel to do it, you’re mind is in the wrong place.
Invent and test with a low threshold; If you have complicated plans that require the enthusiasm of others, you are in for a long wait.
Follow the green! Or blue! Urban nature is where it’s at!
Have fun! If you are not having fun, you are doing something wrong! (This one is from Groucho Marx).