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The Cornerstone for Naava, the Pyhä-Luosto Visitor and Culture Centre, Has Been Laid

Published 5.8.2011

Naava, the new nature tourism destination of the Pyhä-Luosto National Park and the surrounding tourism area, has been successfully anchored to the Pyhätunturi bedrock. The construction of the Pyhä-Luosto Visitor and Culture Centre is on schedule, and the centre will open for visitors in June 2012.

“Naava provides information about nature, but also serves as a venue for living culture. This is why we wanted someone who sets an example for creating something new and encourages others to try things for themselves to lay the cornerstone for the new centre,” says Regional Director Jyrki Tolonen of Metsähallitus’ Natural Heritage Services Lapland, and he continues, “As the father of the PyhäUnplugged event, musician Mato Valtonen has brought to the area exactly what we want Naava to give to the visitors and the Pyhä-Luosto region – vitality and vivid experiences as well as the courage to set out into the forest.”

The name of the Pyhä-Luosto Visitor and Culture Centre, Naava, was announced in conjunction with the laying of the cornerstone. Naava, which is Finnish for beard lichen, captures the very spirit of the treasures of the Pyhä-Luosto National Park: the ancient forests. The centre communicates the importance of nature conservation to the Pyhä-Luosto region, in addition to providing information about the environmentally-friendly services in the area.

The name of the centre was selected as the winner in the naming competition arranged in the spring of 2011. The Naava logo was designed by Mari Kotajärvi, a student of the Faculty of Art and Design at the University of Lapland.

“As I was designing the logo, I explored the image I had formed of the nature in Pyhätunturi as well as the thoughts and ideas that the architecture of the future Nature and Culture Centre brought to mind. On the one hand, the end result depicts stark and constant natural shapes, and on the other, sensitivity and vibrancy. In the letter V, you can see impressions of the shape of a ravine, of beard lichen flying in the wind and of the wing of a Siberian jay," Mari Kotajärvi explains.

A National Park and a Centre of Activity

Naava is being marketed internationally with the phrase “National Park & Vital Culture.” The centre is a gateway to the Pyhä-Luosto National Park, which is the sixth-most popular national park in Finland in terms of visitor numbers. You can find all the elements of Lapland nature in the national park: stately fells, old forests, wide open aapa mires and lush riversides. 

When the building work is complete, Naava will further improve the opportunities for arranging events in the Pyhä-Luosto area, as the needs of various events have been taken into account in designing the building. The vibrant Pyhä-Luosto tourism area is known not only for its diverse range of activities but also for various musical events. True to the nature of the centre’s future operations, even the Naava cornerstone was laid in connection with the PyhäUnplugged festival.

Naava will open for visitors in June 2012 and serve as a sight-seeing destination in itself, in addition to gathering many activities and actors under one roof. A hiking information point, municipal tourist information point, an exhibition with an emphasis on geology, a restaurant, a 200-seat auditorium as well as conference facilities will be available for tourists and locals alike. In addition to Metsähallitus and a restaurant, the Naava facilities will also accommodate the Vocational College of Eastern Lapland, the Pyhä-Luosto Tourist Association and Pyhä-Luoston Vesi Oy, which maintains the cross-country skiing trail network in the area.

The Metsähallitus visitor centres have a key role in presenting and protecting Finnish nature and its diversity. Within the national parks, Metsähallitus manages some of Finland’s most valuable nature destinations and offers everyone an opportunity to experience nature in its original state.

Further information:
Regional Director Jyrki Tolonen, Metsähallitus, tel. +358 400 388 609
Park Superintendent Hely Juntunen, Metsähallitus, tel. +358 400 219 287

Read more:
www.metsa.fi > Projects > Structural Fund Projects > Pyhä-Luosto Visitor and Culture Centre
www.luontoon.fi/pyha-luosto

Facts:

• The cornerstone for the Pyhä-Luosto Visitor and Culture Centre, Naava, was laid on 5 Aug 2011 in an event that started at 11:00 a.m. The cornerstone was laid by Mato Valtonen, a professional musician and the artistic director of PyhäUnplugged.
• The Pyhä-Luosto Visitor and Culture Centre building project is being funded by the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Employment and the Economy, as well as Metsähallitus. Funding for the exhibition and operating model project is mainly provided by the European Regional Development Fund as well as Metsähallitus and its active partners: the municipalities of Kemijärvi, Pelkosenniemi and Sodankylä; the Geological Survey of Finland; the University of Lapland; the Vocational College of Eastern Lapland and the Pyhä-Luosto Tourist Association.
• The backbone of the Pyhä-Luosto National park is the 35-kilometre long chain of 12 hills and fells that starts from Kultakero Fell in Pyhätunturi and ends at Yli-Luosto. The range is traversed by deep ravines, with the 220-metre deep Isokuru as the most impressive one. The fell range is surrounded by more than 300-year-old coniferous forests and wide aapa mires.
• The Metsähallitus visitor centres have a key role in presenting and protecting Finnish nature and its diversity.
• In Lapland, Metsähallitus has 9 centres presenting the region’s nature
• Out of the 37 National Parks in Finland, 6 are located in Lapland and 2 at the border of Lapland and the Koillismaa region.

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Source: http://www.metsa.fi