Example cases of nature work in Espoo

In 2016, the Nature Management Unit and Environmental Protection Unit of the City of Espoo participated in the project Miljoona linnunpönttöä (“a million nesting boxes”). The aim was to increase the number of nesting boxes in Finland. Now there are about 250 nesting boxes in different parts of Espoo.

Aki Pelkonen who works at the strawberry farm in Ainankallio assists the City of Espoo in maintaining the nesting boxes. Pelkonen checks whether eggs hatch, cleans the nesting boxes every year and replaces them when necessary. He also reports nesting results to the city. Pelkonen maintains nesting boxes in cooperation with Espoo and a few other cities. 
 

The nesting boxes cared for by Pelkonen have a diamond pattern and are mainly suitable for small birds, such as tits and the European pied flycatcher. However, a nesting box can also be occupied by mice, squirrels, weasels, head lamps and pieces of thread. Pelkonen is pleased with Espoo residents’ interest in birds and their nesting boxes:

“Espoo residents have been very interested in the nesting boxes and we have discussed things such as how many chicks have hatched in this or that nesting box. Some of these nesting boxes have already been replaced. The nesting percentage has been around 75–80 every year.”

Pelkonen is intrigued by how the nesting boxed may have contributed to the reproduction of birds.

“Let’s say that the nesting has been successful and about five chicks per diamond-pattern nesting box have hatched and grown to be able to fly. This would mean about 8,400–9,000 small birds in nine years. You can only thank Espoo residents for their support,” says Pelkonen.

A crowdsourced invasive species control and mapping event was organised in Espoo in summer 2023 using the Crowdsorsa mobile game. Participants were paid a cash reward for the mapping and control of invasive species. The project was carried out in collaboration with the service provider.

The target species were the large-leaved lupine and Himalayan balsam, and the game area was the land area owned by the City of Espoo. In the first phase, lupine was mapped and eradicated in meadow areas. In the second phase, the mapping was extended to cover the entire Espoo area, and already known occurrences of Himalayan balsam were eradicated.

In total, about 200 people were involved in the mapping and about 400 in the control. The total area eradicated was 10,000 m2, with 262 occurrences. About €0.70 per m2 of area eradicated was paid as reward. Of the selected Himalayan balsam occurrences, 97% could be eradicated. A total of 134 new lupin occurrences were mapped.

The method helped to involve people of all ages and at the same time raise awareness of invasive species and their harmful effects.  The application proved to be a good additional tool in the fight against invasive species, and its use will be continued in the coming years as resources allow.

Espoo has many natural sites of national and regional value, including valuable running waters, rocky areas and areas of great importance for birdlife. In the Action Program for Natural Diversity, completed in 2021, Espoo Environmental Protection identified and defined areas whose protection or management will help safeguard biodiversity in Espoo. The Action Program proposes the creation of 26 new nature reserves in the coming years for the most important sites in terms of their natural value.

The City Board decided to establish the first three nature reserves in early 2023, when the valuable natural sites Liselott, Niipperinpelto hillside grove and Soidensuo joined the more than 100 nature reserves in Espoo. By establishing nature reserves, we are permanently safeguarding valuable natural sites, biodiversity and habitats for species for future generations. At the same time, Espoo is also contributing to the European Union’s biodiversity strategy and the Espoo Story, i.e. the city’s strategy.

Liselott (2.4 hectares), located between residential areas, is a valuable forest area with aspen and spruce trees. Liselott is rich in decaying wood, which is important for biodiversity, as well as breeding and resting sites for the flying squirrel. Niipperinpelto hillside grove (1.4 hectares) near Liselott is home to aspen, goat willow, spruce, birch, bird cherry, oak and large linden trees. The grove is crossed by a natural trickle, and there are also ferns and lilies of the valley. The flying squirrel thrives in the thickets of Niipperinpelto hillside grove.

Meanwhile, Soidensuo (5.9 hectares) is located on the border between Espoo and Kirkkonummi, near Siikajärvi and Kolmperä. This highmoor, which is of national and regional importance, contains a highly endangered herb-rich hardwood-spruce swamp. A natural stream flows through the middle of the highmoor, and plants such as cloudberry and Labrador tea thrive here. Surrounded by forests, Soidensuo is one of the few highmoors located in Espoo.

Dynamic vegetation is a multi-species and layered planned plant community where vegetation is allowed to change in a controlled way. It consists of different vegetation types, woody and herbaceous plants, growing as a mixture in the same area. The many plant communities form an area where each species fills its own ecological niche. Dynamic planting helps to create a more diverse urban environment.   

A dynamic planting group was established in Itäviitta, Saunalahti in 2021. It is a narrow planting area on a residential street between residential buildings and the street. The residential area where the planting group is built is dense and has few public green areas. The aim is to create a diverse vegetation suitable for pollinators in a small area. The site was designed in collaboration with a consultant, and the developer was the Public Works Department. The end result was a colourful and multi-species green area for the residential area.

More dynamic planting sites are being designed and established all the time. Dynamic planting sites have been created in new residential areas such as Vermonniitty along Monikonpuro brook.

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Meadows and traditional landscapes are part of Espoo’s natural environment and reflect its long agricultural history. Numerous species have adapted to these environments created through agriculture. However, since traditional grazing is no longer practised, old agricultural environments are also disappearing in Espoo and the species specific to them have less and less suitable habitats. A significant portion of the endangered species in Finland, about 23 percent, live in meadows and other traditional biotopes.

Espoo’s small-scale traditional landscapes are managed by environmental managers during the summer season. There are more than ten traditional biotopes to be maintained in different parts of Espoo. These include Mössenkärr meadow, Rönnängen, Kauklahti cliff bottom meadow and the meadows at Glims Farmstead Museum. Workers from the Public Works Department mechanically mow vegetation in many other open areas. However, the traditional biotopes are difficult to reach and small in area, so they are managed by environmental managers.

The mowing of traditional biotopes usually takes place in late summer, when flowering plants have finished pollinating and bird nesting is in its final stages. The removal of invasive species is also important for the native biodiversity of meadows. Annual mowing helps to maintain the traditional landscapes as open and suitable habitats for the species of meadows. In Espoo, several noteworthy species have been found in the traditional landscapes, such as the yellow bedstraw, maiden pink, Spiked sedge and pyramidal bugle.

Espoo’s Pitkäjärvi and Lippajärvi are lush lakes and popular recreational destinations near Laaksolahti and Viherlaakso. The Environmental Protection service area, together with local city district and environmental associations, has been carrying out long-term restoration work over several decades to restore these lakes.

The aim of the restoration work at Lake Pitkäjärvi and Lake Lippajärvi is to improve the ecological condition of the eutrophic lakes. Over the decades, the lakes have been subjected to measures such as oxidation and management fishing. The purpose of catching cyprinids is to make the lake’s fish population more natural and to reduce the nutrient load within the lake, which is partly due to the abundant cyprinid fish population. Management fishing has already produced good results at Lake Lippajärvi: years of work have improved the water quality of Lake Lippajärvi from fair to satisfactory and the fish population has become healthier. At Lake Pitkäjärvi, management fishing will continue in the coming years.

Lake Pitkäjärvi has a large catchment area of 69 square kilometres, which is home to agriculture, forestry, nature reserves, housing, industry and even major road traffic arteries. Solutions to reduce nutrient loads in the Lake Pitkäjärvi catchment area are currently being explored with a grant from the Ministry of the Environment’s Water Protection Programme. In addition, a natural water management structure will be implemented in both Espoo and Vantaa. These solutions are expected to address the flooding problems in the Lake Pitkäjärvi catchment area and reduce the nutrient load of the lake.

Rain and melting snow bring water into the built environment, which evaporates, is absorbed or flows through ditches, pipes and drains into water bodies. Water that falls on roofs, asphalt or other impermeable surfaces is called stormwater. If stormwater management is not carefully planned and the water is not drained properly, flooding can occur. The management of stormwater on a property is the responsibility of the property owner.

Stormwater can contain litter and many harmful substances that pollute the environment. Therefore, reducing the amount and delaying the flow of stormwater on a property also safeguards biodiversity. The most effective and environmentally-friendly way to collect stormwater and delay its flow on a property is to establish, for example, a depression or wetland in the yard where stormwater is drained and absorbed into the soil. The vegetation planted in a stormwater wetland retains moisture and provides a habitat for a wide variety of biota. From a stormwater management perspective, it is also important to minimise the amount of impermeable surfaces, such as asphalt and paving, so that water falling and melting in the yard is absorbed into the soil.

In 2023, Espoo’s Environmental Protection produced and published a guidebook with information on how to manage stormwater on properties. The guidebook was printed and distributed to more than 9,000 households in the catchment area of Lake Pitkäjärvi, i.e. in areas such as Laaksolahti, Viherlaakso and Niipperi. The guidebook was produced as part of Espoo’s restoration project for Lake Pitkäjärvi and Lake Lippajärvi, which has received funding from the Ministry of the Environment’s Water Protection Programme. However, the tips in the guidebook are useful for any property, regardless of its location.

The guidebook “Stormwater Management on a Property” is available in electronic format Stormwater-page.

The Keilaniemi area is rapidly opening up to pedestrians and public transport. The Keilaniemi metro station, opened in 2017, and the recently opened terminus of light rail line 15 in its vicinity, form a public transport hub. In addition to commercial and office construction, the Keilaniemi area will densify in the coming years with residential construction. The slowly developing Waterfront Walkway near the stops will also provide attractive high-quality landscape construction for movement in the future.

The densifying high-rise housing development and increasing consumption in the area will require measures to increase biodiversity already at the planning phase. Keilaniemi Park, completed in 2019 on top of the Ring I tunnel, is a case in point.

Keilaniemi Park connects the Tapiola and Keilaniemi areas across the Ring I road. It is connected to the block area of the metro station and high-rise residential buildings under construction along Keilaniementie. The deck park not only serves as a recreational link between the areas but also as an important new living environment in the midst of a rapidly developing urban environment.

Increasing biodiversity was already a starting point in the planning phase of the area. The specific requirements for the park to be built on the deck were taken into account in the detailed plan, including the suitability of the structures for planting, especially trees, and the natural connection to existing park areas on the Tapiola side. The plan directed the planting of a large number of trees of varying sizes and species in the deck park and the noise barriers. More than 150 trees were planted in the park. In addition, hundreds of afforestation saplings were planted along the edges of the park.

The completed park contains over 30 species of trees and shrubs. In addition, large areas of continuous multi-species meadow areas were created in the park. The park, with its multi-species and multi-layered tree, shrub and meadow vegetation, is a fine example of a deck structure which has been planned to first and foremost meet the spatial requirements of the vegetation. 

Nature House Villa Elfvik offered lessons in September-November 2023 to Espoo’s secondary school classes on biodiversity and combatting its loss.

The topic was addressed from both a local and the young people’s own perspective: What kind of nature is there in Espoo? How does the city take biodiversity into account? How can young people combat biodiversity loss themselves?

The lesson, which included a variety of theory and activities, inspired the young people to pay attention to biodiversity and made them realise that everyone is needed to prevent biodiversity loss.

The young people learned about invasive species and responsible camping. In addition, they learned how to organise a community effort to stop invasive species in their own neighbourhood. They were also told about the Nature-wise Espoo project.

The school visits were planned by Essi Väänänen, an Environmental Education Trainee at the Nature House, under the guidance of experts. Essi, who is studying to become a biology and geography teacher at the University of Oulu, also carried out the lessons as visits to Espoo schools.

A total of 269 pupils and teachers took part in the “Combatting Biodiversity Loss” lessons. The lesson materials will be freely available to teachers in Espoo in the future.

The lessons were part of the lessons supporting sustainable lifestyles offered by the Nature House. The materials were produced making use of the “Enchanted by Urban Nature” exhibition previously organised at the Nature House.