Last Wednesday, on May 22nd, we had a slightly different workday as we celebrated our annual Kupilka Day together with the children of Kontiolahti's After School Club.
A year ago, we started a tradition of celebrating an annual Kupilka Day. The chosen date is May 22nd as it is the International Day for Biological Diversity. The goal of the International Day for Biological Diversity is to raise awareness about biodiversity, its status and its significance for life on Earth. The day is to celebrate nature and the possibilities it can offer, but also remind ourselves of our responsibilities towards the surrounding environment.
We celebrated the first Kupilka Day in May 2023 with a two-day event at Ollila's capin (Ollilan tupa in Finnish) in Ylämylly. In addition to the Kupilka team we had bushcraft experts from both local and international backgrounds. During the two days we cooked food by the fire, learned wilderness and nature skills, and enjoyed the good weather together.
Pyytikota, located by Lake Pitkälampi, provided excellent surroundings for the activities of Kupilka Day this year.
This year, as a part of Kupilka Day, we wanted to make a local impact and give something back to our surrounding community. This led to the idea of organizing a nature education day for an after school club from Kontiolahti at Pyytivaara, near Kupilka's home. Together, we explored the surrounding nature and learned about Everyman's Rights, without forgetting snack by the fire.
In Finland, the nature is surrounding us almost everywhere. Regardless of the land ownership or nationality, everyone have a right to enjoy nature in Finland. The concept of Everyman's Rights in Finland states the rights, but also the responsibilities of the one roaming the nature. For example everyone is allowed to walk, ski or cycle freely in nature. You can camp out temporarily and pick up berries and mushrooms. However, everyone have to remember to keep distance to homes and other buildings, and not to cross any fields or nursery plantations. You are not allowed to disturb other people or animals, nor cut down trees without permission. Learn more about the Everyone's Rights from here.
The morning of Kupilka day dawned beautifully and sunny as we headed to prepare for the day at Pyytikota. Our guests, the after school club members from Kontiolahti's school, arrived at 1:00 PM by a shared bus ride. The atmosphere was reportedly expectant and enthusiastic even before the ride arrived.
The Everyman's Rights became familiar through discussion and games.
We started the afternoon by getting to know each other through yard games. After this we went to sit by the lake and discussed together about the Everyman's Rights. The results of this lesson were tested through a little game. During the game the children had to head run to the correct marked tree based on whether the statement regarding Everyman's Right were true or not. The game shook of the last remnants of the tension, and the group got into a good rhythm.
While building the dream villages, we learned about what you are allowed to collect from nature.
After learning about the Everyman's Rights, we divided the group into three smaller teams. Every team had three activities to participate by turns. The first activity was to build a dream villages using materials found in the forest. The end results were impressive, showcasing a variety of creative building solutions.
With Eetu everyone learned about safe fire handling. After this there was time to enjoy sitting by the campfire and design Kupilka cup of dreams.
After building the dream villages, the teams were invited by Eetu to sit by the campfire. With Eetu, the teams were discussing how one handles fire safely. The most important rule to learn was not to make fire alone without adult supervision. On top of that, campfire should never be left without unattended. There was also time to design everyone's own dream Kupilka cup.
Forest spirit named Saaga had hidden small task around the forests for children. Through these tasks, Saaga wanted to teach children to pay attention to the wonders of nature around the with all their senses.
As the last and most exciting task for many children, there was a treasure hunt. Saaga, a 600-year-old forest spirit (hiisi in Finnish) living in Pyytivaara, had left a letter and tasks for the teams in the forest surrounding the Pyytikota. Hard work and map-reading skills were rewarded, and each child received their own orange Kupilka tube scarf. These scarves as both a warming accessory, sun protection, and, if needed, a marker for the campsite in the forest duo to its bright color.
Without doubt, everything tastes better outdoors. Tikkupulla, meaning sweet bun cooked by the fire wrapped around a wooden stick, was a new treat for many.
After completing all three tasks was time of the most important part of the day: enjoying the snacks. The Pyytikota provided excellent facilities for that, and everyone enjoyed sandwiches and grilled sausages. For dessert, we roasted some tikkupulla (sweet bun wrapped around a wooden stick, cooked by the fire), enjoyed with strawberry and raspberry jams. To wash it all down, we had juice and hot chocolate from our brand-new Kupilka Day 2024-cups.
Kupilka Day 2024 was wonderful and rewarding for both the Kupilka team and, based on the feedback, also for the children and instructors of the after school club. Thank you to everyone who participated, and especially to the Kontiolahti's 4H-assiciation ♥
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