September opens with a major breakthrough of a peatland complex in Seinäjoki. Travels in Alaska, Canada and Minnesota have brought actions for the North American operations. Wendat scholar Miguel Sioui is headed to Finland for a working visit in September.
Karvasuo is a major peatland – old growth forest complex located close to the City of Seinäjoki in Western Finland. It adds close to 300 hectares to the Landscape Rewilding Programme with an aim of 1200 hectares to be restored and protected over the next few years.
Karvasuo is a large unprotected peatland complex. It has many rare and vulnerable species, including lynx, otter, casebearing moths as well as other butterflies and dragonflies and rare plant species.
Snowchange is working to restore and protect up to 1200 hectares around Karvasuo over the next years. Major funding for the initiative comes from the NABU Climate Fund in Germany, that is part of Nature And Biodiversity Conservation Union (the oldest and largest environment association in Germany).Karvasuo has been on the list of wishes from the local villages to be protected for decades. It is slated to be fully protected this year in the national HELMI Programme.
The North American tour has ended. It included visits to Unalakleet, meetings with Barrow whalers, Tahltan delegates and many other Indigenous partners. Additionally a speaking tour and collaborative efforts with the Ojibway in Minnesota advanced the notion of Indigenous-led peatland restoration in the US.
Recognized Wendat-Huron scholar Miguel Sioui is headed to Finland at the end of the month. He says: “As an Indigenous geographer and environmental management scholar deeply rooted in my Huron-Wendat traditions and community, I see my purpose as a cultural translator between two worlds – Western and Indigenous – that have historically struggled to meaningfully communicate. Indeed, for a variety of reasons, academia has traditionally been reluctant to seek to understand Indigenous ways of knowing, doing, and being, and to incorporate relevant Indigenous knowledge (IK) concepts into fields related to environmental management. I am keenly aware of the need for deeper reconciliation between the Indigenous and non-Indigenous intellectual communities through the creation of mutually usable channels of communication and research collaboration.“
Snowchange welcomes Miguel to Finland and looks forwards to renewing the connections that have been in place since 1990s!