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    The major projects of Metsähallitus include planning of management of wide areas and developing  nature conservation and nature tourism.
    The management plans are regularly updated together with the public and stakeholders.

    Metsähallitus´s Parks & Wildlife Finland unit benefits from financing from the European Union and takes part in several co-operation projects.

    Projects by Area
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  • metsa.fi/english/
  • Etusivu/
  • Outdoor Recreation/
  • Well-Being from Nature/
  • Health Benefits from Nature/

Outdoor Recreation

  • Hiking
  • Hunting and fishing
  • Well-Being from Nature
    • Ecosystem Services
    • Health Benefits from Nature
      • Health Benefits from National Parks
      • Health Benefits of Fishing and Hunting
    • Economic Benefits from Nature
  • Notification of an organized event
  • Permits for Research and Photography
  • Nature Tourism

Exercising Outdoors as a Source of Health and Happiness

Suomeksi | Sámegillii | På svenska

Nature is a diverse source of health and well-being. State owned forests and waters offer great experiences for all ages throughout the country. Metsähallitus together with its partners promote the wellness effects of outdoor activities by offering hikers services such as trails, campfire sites, signposts, maps and information on Finland’s most beautiful nature destinations.

It has been scientifically proven that nature improves our health and well-being in at least three ways:

  • Physical activity increases outdoors: Nature makes you move. Without even noticing it, we tend to move more briskly outdoors than indoors even though the exercise feels lighter.
  • Nature revives and helps recover from stress: It improves our concentration, and can also reduce our pulse rate and blood pressure.
  • Outdoor activities promote our social well-being and sense of community: We look at others in a more positive way, and our mood is quickly improved.

Even a short time spent outdoors helps. Five minutes spent outdoors improves your mood, and in 15–20 minutes vitality increases and blood pressure drops. It has also been estimated, that spending at least five hours a month in urban green spaces, or visiting nature sites outside the city two or three times a month, significantly improves your mental well-being.

Outdoor Activities Improve Public Health Equally

Outdoor activities offer a great solution for public health problems, such as physical inactivity, sedentary lifestyles and increase in obesity rates, as well as the related health risks such as cardiovascular disease, mental health problems and type 2 diabetes.

National parks and other nature destinations, as well as commercial forests, are equal and inexpensive exercise environments for everyone. There are thousands of kilometres of hiking trails and some of them are also wheelchair and pram accessible. Other outdoor activities include, for example, climbing, biking, canoeing, skiing, fishing and hunting. Metsähallitus web services and the staff at nature centers help you plan your excursion.

Metsähallitus and Outdoor Activities
  • Choose your destination: www.outdoors.fi
  • Health and well-being outdoors (www.outdoors.fi)

 

Reports on Health Effects of Spending Time Outdoors
  • Health and well-being from Finnish national parks – A study on benefits perceived by visitors (julkaisut.metsa.fi) In Finnish, summary in English.

 

In Finnish, summary in English
Healthy Gifts of Nature
  • Finnish nature offers healthy delicacies: berries and mushrooms and other wild foods.
 

 

Volunteer Work for the Good of Nature and for Your Own Pleasure
  • Volunteering is a great way to gain health benefits from nature and at the same time give something back to the Finnish nature.

 

 

Last modified 18.01.2016
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© Metsähallitus 2018
Suomeksi På svenska Sámegillii
Contact us Feedback Cookies and Terms of Use
Metsähallitus
+
  • News Releases
  • Contact Us
  • Careers
  • Organisation
  • Corporate Social Responsibility
  • Cooperation
  • Publications
  • Logo
Lands and Waters
+
  • Areas and maps
  • Maps for various purposes
  • Geographic information system
  • Cultural Heritage
  • Multiple-use Forests
  • Protected Areas
  • Land-use planning
Business Activities
+
  • Forestry
  • Property Development
  • Siemen Forelia Oy
Outdoor Recreation
+
  • Hiking
  • Hunting and fishing
  • Well-Being from Nature
  • Notification of an organized event
  • Permits for Research and Photography
  • Nature Tourism
Nature Conservation
+
  • Network of Protected Areas
  • Management and Use of Protected Areas
  • Species and Habitats
Follow Us (In Finnish)
Follow Us in Facebook Follow Us in Twitter RSS News Feeds
  • News Releases
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  • Contact Us
Follow Us (In Finnish)
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© Metsähallitus 2018