The making ofAika matka

Aika matka - A Mighty Journey - is a 3-kilometer environmental trail located in downtownRantasalmi. It consists of nine stops and 12 fascinating stories of which five deal with geo-logical and the rest with culture historical topics.

Financial basis

Aika matka was financed from two sources:

the geological part was contracted with the Finnish Forest and Park Service and finan-ced from the Northern Periphery Programme as a part of the NEED project (NorthernEnvironmental Education Development);

the culture historical part was financed by the Rantasalmi Municipality within the fra-mework of its Regional and Business Development Program.

The team

The Aika matka project was contracted and supervised by the Rantasalmi Institute of Envi-ronmental Education (RIEE). The project team in charge of planning and implementing thetrail consisted of two RIEE staff members and six local experts who worked on the projecton a voluntary, in-kind basis. The team members were:

Mr. Pekka Hynninen, Program Director, RIEE Mr. Juha Rämö, translator, RIEE Mr. Jorma Kaimio, Docent (emer.) Mrs. Airi Kianto, art teacher, artist Mr. Jussi Leppäniemi, Minister of the Rantasalmi Parish Mr. Toni Auvinen, entrepreneur, chairman of the municipal council Mr. Janne Aaltonen, dentist, chairman of the South Savo Building Heritage Association Mrs. Mirjam Hartikainen, public health nurse

Planning parameters

Aika matka was designed to meet the following criteria:

serving the needs of the key target groups, i.e. schoolchildren participating in outdooreducation, tourists visiting Rantasalmi, and local people interested in learning moreabout their history and roots

enhancing the target groups’ sense of place and belonging achieving a maximum accessibility at a minimum infrastructure cost relying on local expertise, know-how, and bee spirit

Implementation

The first issue for the project team to address was how to combine the two realms of geo-logy and culture history. The options were between one trail and two trails. At the end, the

solution was rather simple: despite the seemingly different nature of geology and culturehistory, both of them could easily be accommodated into one trail, because, eventually it’sthe visitors who decide what they want to know and whether they want to focus on geologyor culture history or both of these simultaneously.

The next planning step was to decide about the infrastructure of the trail. Nine strategicpoints of interest, located in the downtown area and easy to access, were chosen andmarked with 4 x 4 inch wooden posts standing on a metal anchor and carrying a green signwith the stop number and the Aika matka logo in white. The route was additionally markedwith 1 x 2 inch wooden signposts.

The stories

The main criterion for the stories was to introduce the visitor to some true highlights in thepast of the region. Some overall themes emerged: for geology, it was the time conceptcharacterised by the evolution of the landscape and the water level alterations of the Sai-maa basin, whereas the culture history of the region has evolved around the HaapaniemiMilitary Academy and the related manor culture.

The culture historic stories were written by Jorma Kaimio whose academic background isin Etruscan research. The geology part of the stories is based on expert knowledge produ-ced by the Geological Survey of Finland and adapted by the RIEE.

The 12 stories were compiled into a brochure illustrated with watercolours by Airi Kiantoand available to visitors at the Linnansaari National Park Visitor Centre Oskari which is thestarting point of the trail. The culture historic stories of the brochure are marked with a keysymbol and the geological ones with the picture of a granite rock.

The brochure contains the following stories:

The origin of the landscape History and presence of wood building Haapaniemi Military Academy A flood that lasted for millenia Quadrille and manor culture From earth elevation to earth hunger Succession of trees Champagne and gospel preaching A national landscape under threat Public education and innkeeping traditions From the execution stone to the churchyard Life emerges from ashes

Opening of the trail

The opening of Aika matka took place on June 30. The actual ceremony was carried outby Mrs. Kristiina Järvenpää, Mayor of Rantasalmi, by breaking in two a bedrock coresample with a hammer. After the ceremony, the invited guests had the opportunity to takea trail tour guided by Pekka Hynninen and Jorma Kaimio. After this first ever Aika matkatour, the participants gathered in the church where the trail was consecrated by Mr. OlliUosukainen, Vicar of the Rantasalmi Parish.

Ceremonial opening of Aikamatka by Mrs. Kristiina Järven-pää, Mayor of Rantasalmi

Pekka Hynninen and Jorma Kai-mio at the 1st stop of Aika matka

The old vicarage, at the 5th stopof Aika matka