T.I.M.E. Comenius Finland

T.I.M.E

TOOLS AND INFORMATION THROUGH MEDIA TO EDUCATION COMENIUS PROGRAM

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013 2 l i r p A 24-28 Lammi, Pyh채joki

Finland Italy Poland Romania Slovakia Turkey United Kingdom

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication/communication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use witch may be made of the information contained therein.

T.I.M.E passing by in Evo…

Students and teachers from different countries have gathered in Evo woods at the end of April to learn about the habitat in Finland as part of the T.I.M.E (Tools and Information through Media to Education) Comenius project. In this third visit of the project, the participants from the seven countries were divided into groups to take part in six different environment-themed workshops.

A Comenius project is funded by the EU and it helps bring students from all around Europe together with educational purposes. T.I.M.E Comenius was initiated by Romanian coordinators and it partnered with six other countries in order to develop students’ skills in journalism based on different topics. Finland’s topic was environment and that’s why they involved the Evo students in helping the foreign understand the importance of keeping the forest in a good state. They will tell us in the following paragraphs how the workshops went.

Finding our way to salmiakki GPS is an abbreviation for Global Positioning System. People all around the world find GPS really useful because they can utilize them wherever they are going and can find the location, they intend to find, really easily.

At the start of our GPS workshop, the Evo students explained to our group how we could use various GPS device. Unfortunately, some of the GPS devices were broken. Therefore, our group didn’t get to use the GPS properly.

Instead of using the GPS the Evo students gave us all maps of the area in order to find the locations we were looking for. We had to find 3 specific targets in order to complete the workshop and our group found them very easily! While looking for the specific targets with our group we had great fun. On the way home we had the whole van singing along to One Direction.

Once our group found the third target we got the reward of eating salmiakki and really tasty Finnish chocolate. The salmiakki wasn’t popular among the group because the foreign students haven’t ever tasted any kind of sweets like that before.

We found this workshop educational and useful for later life.

Challenges brought us together Let us tell you about the most interactive and ´hands on´, in our opinion, workshop – Obstacle Course. Our first task was the famous game, Towers of Hanoi. The introduction to the game was brief but straight to the point. Everybody felt we had been thrown straight on the frying pan but reluctantly we commenced moving the blocks. Our competitive nature slowly took over and we were determined to finish the game, so, after some time, we did.

We’ve never thought a string web can put you in difficulty but attaching it to two tree trunks makes everything more challenging, interesting and creative. Sometimes being short and skinny is an advantage. For example, one of us got easily through the net without touching any ropes in a matter of seconds whilst our Slovakian team member had originally thrown himself into one of the holes in the web even though he wasn’t successful in getting any points, however, he made all of us laugh.

The Finnish members of our group turned out to be professional players in the final part of the Obstacle course, Frisbee Golf, while the rest of us struggled through reaching all three checkpoints.

What can we say; we need to spend more time in Finland to brush up on our Frisbee throwing skills.

It kindles opportunities for people to have and connect with the nature and we believe that these challenges have done just that.

A student smoothly sneaking through the nets

What is Everyman’s Right?

Everyman’s Right is an important law to know about as it has always been a part of Finnish tradition; and there are also similar laws in Norway, Sweden, Iceland and Scotland. Everyman’s Right gives anyone in Finland, whether you’re a Finnish native or just a tourist, freedom to roam the beautiful forests of Finland; it means you can use the nature at your will without permission; of course permission is needed when starting a fire as this could endanger someone’s health. This law is flexible, and can be changed to fit a different situation.

As a multinational group, the non-natives were shocked to see a law like this was in place, especially the English, where there isn’t any sort of rule like this in their country. We were also shocked in the sense that if somebody broke one of the laws, then there was no real way to find out who it was that broke these laws; however when walking through the dead forest, with no trees in sight we saw why no one would want to break the laws, as no one wants the forest to look like that, after all, the main threat to the forest is ourselves.

We had the privilege to go on a guided tour of the forest, which gave us the chance to see why such laws are in place; the Finnish want to get the most out of their nature that they have been blessed with. We got the chance to go on many other workshops, which wouldn’t be possible without the law of Everyman’s Right.

You may: • Walk, ski, or cycle freely.

• Stay or set up camp temporarily.

• Pick wild berries, mushrooms and flowers.

• Fish • Row or sail.

The amount of deforestation disturbed us.

You may not: • Disturb other people or their property.

• Disturb breeding birds • Cut or damage living trees.

• Litter.

• Disturb privacy.

• Fish or hunt without the permits.

The monster in the woods Equipped with some safety vests we entered in the forest where we heard a strange noise. ´´What is this monster?” Mr. Jones asked. Indeed it was a monster, but a special one. It was a forest machine. Rawrrrrrr!

The first thing we saw was the appearance of that tree harvester. It was really big, and then we found out that the price was very expensive, about 500.000 – 2.000.000 €. The piece of equipment has this price because it´s one of the best in the world and it´s also popular in other countries for its quality.

First of all, the machine it´s simple to use, you just need to learn how to operate it, but despite this, you need more concentration than flying a plane. HAMK University of Applied Sciences uses it just in teaching and preparing students for this vocation.

In a different order, comparing with chain saw, which is a slower and more dangerous method to collect trees, not to mention that, for making this job, you need to take safety precautions like wearing helmets, clothes (made from fibre to stop injuries) and safety vests. Also, chain saw is still in use, especially where it is hard to use the big machine.

The atmosphere in the forest was relaxed, peaceful and we had the chance to smell that specific flavour of wood and pine trees. Last but not least, our feelings were based more on the interest which made us want to find out more about this Finnish machine.

All in all, it was an amazing experience and we were glad that we had the opportunity to see and find these new things.

Have you ever wanted to ride a tractor before?

After seeing the real “thing”, we had the opportunity to see what it was like to be inside a forest tractor and how to control one.

At Evo, they have two simulators where you can learn how to operate the machinery, by using the joysticks on either side of the simulator to move the grapple on the screen in front of you backwards and forward to collect the timber. To move the tractor you could use the pedal on your right, just like in real life. The screen is very realistic and is not so far from the actual experience. “I thought it was interesting on the technological side of things and the similarities between reality and the training. It seemed very useful to the people who operate in the field,” said one of the Italian students.

After we had tried to control the simulator, we realized that it is very difficult to operate and that’s why the Evo students were very skilled due to their 30 hour/week training over a period of 5 months. The students cannot train on the real forest machinery because they are very expensive. The advantage of using the simulators is that no actual damage is caused if the students have an accident. The environment and civilians are completely safe.

On the whole we found it a good and informative experience, and we now appreciate the skills and knowledge that the Evo students have.

You have to train for 30 hours/week to get on this beast.

To eat or not to eat?

Getting off the van, we were greeted by two students wrapped in nets. We found out later that it was for protection against bees and mosquitoes, because they were going to show us how to pick up berries. We all thought that it was funny watching some well protected men picking up air, as there are no berries at this time of year in Finland. The students told us that if somebody comes just for berries, it´s best to visit Finland during summer and autumn. Some of them might be expensive, for example, the cloudberry and lingonberry are not so cheap.

But why are they so important? Well, not only they are healthy because of all the vitamins they contain, but they also have a very good taste. Beside this, berries and mushrooms are an important source of money for Finns and also for foreign people, picking them being a free activity for anybody.

We got to taste six different kinds of berries. For some of us, it was the first time we ever ate something like this. They all had very different flavours, and for us the most delicious ones were the blueberries, raspberries and cloudberries. All these berries can be used to make some sweet desserts. So we tasted blueberries in a cake, wild strawberry juice, lingonberry jam and raspberry soup. Compared to these sweet delights, the sour lingonberries and cranberries brought some grins on our faces.

We also saw pictures of poisonous berries we shouldn’t eat, even though they were looking nice and colourful.

Unfortunately, after all those delicious fruits, we weren’t that interested in the dried, stinky mushrooms the students presented us with.

Overall we enjoyed this workshop and Maria Pastorkova, physics teacher from Slovakia said: “My favorite berry is Lily of the Valley. It has a beautiful flower and a very nice smell. It is a popular flower in Slovakia”.

We all had a go on this simulator

A Romanian Student’s first reaction to the sour lingonberries.

Fennoscandia: From Ice Age to Modern Age The Kalajoki Sea Life Center was the first stop of the Comenius group. Our purpose was to learn and understand how the land of Finland was formed and shaped by the Baltic Sea. As none of us went there before, everybody had their own expectations. All in all, our main concern was about the living animals and real plants or how the beach looks.

Passing by the gift shop, we were engulfed by a marine environment. The tour guides gathered all of us in a big room and played a video about Finland’s sea life, its isles and its unique animals. We proceeded to the exhibit, soon after. Our lesson involved new and exciting information about the Ice Age, land uplift and it explained how the dunes were formed. At the third floor, we saw some specific Baltic Sea animals and understood facts about the underwater vegetation. Afterwards, our hosts took us outside, where we experienced the cold, sea wind, the clean and soft sand and the beautiful sightseeing Finland’s shores offer.

As part of our sea life adventure, we learned that the land uplift is a very important phenomenon in Finland, even now. It is unique and it constantly changes Finland’s shores and land aspect, as it is a subject of long term change. The 3 km thick ice and snow carpet formed in the Ice Age pressed Fennoscandia’s land. As a consequence, after the ice melted, the land tried to lift back to its original form, but instead it formed bumps that are now known as uplifts.

The Baltic Sea has an immense influence over the human and animal life, here. It contains brackish water, which

means that the water is not entirely salty or fresh, instead it is an combination of the two. For that reason, Finland’s coastline is the home of some animals that can’t be found anywhere else. Because of the fact that the sea is young, compared to other seas, it did not have time to develop its own species, but instead it hosts lake and sea animals. The fauna is very

sensitive, reason of the water assortment.

Although many rare animals are here, there is one in particular that is on its road to extinction. The Baltic Sea Seal counts a population of only 300, located in the Saimaa Lake. They got stuck there because of the same land uplift that we talked about. The ground rose, leaving the seals isolated in fresh water.

Either way you think of it, the wind is the main factor that works on the land’s aspect. For example, it formed sand dunes, that date from the Ice Age. The blow power of the wind gathers the sand in one location and there is where the dunes form.

It does the same to the underwater dunes, but with the help of the waves, obviously.

Our visit to Kalajoki Sea

Life Center was mind-opening. cause of that, the world we live This experience has enriched in may have a better future. our general knowledge, as well as made us more aware of the Alexandra-Mihaela Badea constant changes happening Klaudia Lachacka around us. Although we may Viivi Ohvo not observe it with the bare Essi Kestila eye, they do happen and KalaJanne Keskitalo joki Life Center has focused on Anna Kronqvist explaining that particular thing.

Omar Sarpola Nature’s needs are now better Leena Lindela known by young adults and be-