On the fifth of May, our Baltic Route caravan starts its journey to the European hub of sustainability and environmentalism: the green North.
Our coordinator Paolo and logistics-man Luca from the Southernmost Europe are bringing some Italian summer winds along. Marie, working as a facilitator, is spicing up our team with some Berlin-style creativity and Nina is mainly responsible for our communication and media-related tasks, but also working as regional expert in the Finland leg.
Scandinavians have throughout the history lived literally in and from the nature. The Finnish word for forest, “Metsä” did not exist in the very ancient vocabulary, and there was a good reason for that: there was nothing else but forest in Finland on that time. Only when the cultivating and farming culture reached the Northernmost edge of Europe, Finns had a reason to differentiate the forest that was growing right next to their newly invented rye field.
In those times, this harsh but beautiful piece of land was a very magical environment to live in. Every living and non-living creature and place had its own spirit. In nature the spirits were numerous; If you went fishing, it was better to make sure that the spirits and gods of the water were in a good mood. If you went hunting, you should be humble and be careful not to upset any spirits of the forest. The word for hunting (pyytää) means the same as “to ask”. You’d go to the forest to ask if spirits could give you something to eat. Quite a different approach to our nature these ancient people of the North had, right?
If the spirits of the Nordic nature still exist, they must be really upset. “Upset” might be a bit of an understatement in this time of mass exploitation and climate change. They must be furious. We are in need of imaginative and fast solutions if we want to keep this planet going and its inhabitants, humans and spirits, alive and happy. Nordic countries did not lose their respect for nature and are a good example in the battle against global warming and for a sustainable lifestyle. They can work as a lead for rest of Europe and world, but fast changes need to happen everywhere. By using one’s vote in the upcoming European Parliament elections, everyone can take a leap and influence how our shared future will look like.
And therefore, we are on a move! Our Baltic tour group wants to do our part and remind people about their right and opportunity to vote and make the difference! On our way, we will be taking part in various actions, joining to climate and environment-related events and especially meeting wonderful European citizens of the North. You can follow the Baltic team and our journey through Sweden, Finland and Estonia between 5th and 17th of May. If you happen to be in the same place as us, don’t hesitate to come meet us and have a chat about the future of us, our country, the EU or our planet!