Nature Forum 2025 met its goals: leaders are committed and participants motivated
The purpose of the Nature Forum organised at Dipoli, Espoo, on 5 September 2025 was to develop the participants’ expertise, as well as to prompt and inspire them to promote halting biodiversity loss in their own work. Based on the atmosphere of the day and the feedback survey, the objectives were successfully met.
The event in numbers
The Nature Forum brought together some 600 experts from cities’ management and office holders, companies, research communities and organisations to discuss biodiversity. The programme of the day included, for example, expert speeches, joint discussion and familiarisation with nature work by different organisations in the exhibition area.
The participant limit, 600 people, was reached a couple of weeks before the event. In total, over 700 experts were interested in participating in the Nature Forum.
The participants arriving at Dipoli were quite a diverse group: about 30% of them represented cities around Finland, 30% small and large companies, 15% educational institutions and research organisations. Approximately 5% of the participants were decision-makers, and the remaining 20% came from various other public organisations, associations or foundations.
The main organiser of Nature Forum 2025 was the City of Espoo, but in addition to us, 10 programme content partners, 29 exhibitors and 7 sponsor partners were involved in the event.
We invested in sustainable development and nature values also when organising the event. One of the most visible actions was the HSL day ticket offered for the day of the event to those who registered. The ticket was activated by 31% of the participants. We also invested in minimising empty registrations, so called "no-shows", and we were delighted that only 5% of the name tags remained unused on the table.
The feedback praised the atmosphere and concreteness – there was also room for improvement
Based on the feedback survey, Nature Forum’s primary contribution to the participants was an inspiring, motivating and hopeful atmosphere. The participants’ like-mindedness and shared energy were seen as a welcome force in the face of the world’s challenges. In the feedback, the participants praised the solution-oriented approach, the go-getter vibe, the group spirit and the “ecstatic” atmosphere. According to one feedback, “for one day, it felt like anything was possible”.
The participants also enjoyed the programme contents. Our charismatic keynote speaker, Cecil Konijnendijk from Nature Based Solutions Institute, received the highest number of praises. In the morning programme, the fast-paced company pitches were also enjoyed by many, as were the afternoon panel discussions. Both of these focused on concrete examples and commitments, which is what is often expected from expert events.
The organisation of the event, such as clear communication, well-functioning scheduling and sustainable choices, were praised. The participants also appreciated the long breaks in the event, which enabled networking.
However, there was also one problem during the breaks, which many mentioned: As 600 people were talking with each other, it became fairly loud in places. In this respect, the event organiser must be more careful in the future and ensure that a space suitable on paper also works in practice for a large group of people. As for the programme, the participants would like to hear more critical perspectives and addressing the challenges. In other words, for next time, the organiser must think about how the sense of community enabled by the theme event can be suitably spiced up with opposing perspectives.
All goals met
When preparing the Nature Forum, three objectives were set for the event: increasing knowledge, boosting nature work and building hope. Based on the day’s discussions and the views collected through the feedback survey, the goals seem to have been met.
In the feedback survey, the majority of the respondents said that they had received new information at the event. The responses also indicated the intention to learn more about certain themes that emerged in the Nature Forum.
The updated Nature Declaration and the Cooperation Document signed with the construction industry and published at the Nature Forum are concrete commitments to boost nature work. The feedback survey also praised the ideas and seeds of cooperation that resulted from the event. In addition, the visibility of the large event and the social media and media discussion that it evoked will raise the profile of nature work nationally.
And then there's the atmosphere. In the feedback survey, many said that the hopeful atmosphere and encouragement from colleagues gave a completely new kind of boost to their own work for the benefit of nature. In addition, the small rivalry brought about by the discussion – did somebody say Vantaa? – is likely to challenge each one to do their best.
It is therefore time, at this point, for us as the organisers of the Nature Forum to express our sincerest gratitude. Organising the event was an honour and pleasure for us. We would like to thank everyone who participated in the event, who gave feedback and who participates in nature work in their own role! See you next year in Lahti!