Paula is a businesswoman and nature guide. She is visionary and multi-talented. She is one of nine partners in Salla Wilderness Park, a company that offers nature and wilderness activities in north-east Finland. Paula has known the region since she was a child, as she regularly visited her grandparents summer cottage in Salla. ‘I loved this nature and wilderness even as a child,’ she says. She moved to Salla 26 years ago after completing her Wilderness Guide School. Later on she took a master's degree in tourism and worked for many years as a tourism manager for the city of Salla, which today advertises with the slogan ‘In the middle of nowhere’. ‘Yes, I was also involved in this campaign.’ However, Salla caused a stir with a bid for the 2032 Summer Olympics.
Paula is still happy about ‘Salla 2032’ today: "Summer Games in a place with eight months of snow, which is considered the coldest place in Finland - of course that wasn't meant seriously. But we wanted to draw attention to climate change on the one hand and promote our remote, wild and beautiful region on the other." Salla certainly got attention: ‘Our reach on the various social media channels was in the millions, and we had press enquiries from all over the world.’ As fun as the campaign was, the issue is serious for Paula: "Average temperatures are rising faster here north of the Arctic Circle than in more temperate zones. We already have an increase of 2.5 degrees." And we feel these effects very clearly here: the weather is much more unpredictable, winters are two to three weeks shorter, but there are more and more extreme snowfalls. These changeable winters can be very dangerous for the reindeer. The temperature fluctuations in winter can cause layers of ice to form in the snow cover. Then the reindeer can no longer reach the food under the snow cover and have to starve." Salla is a small town with around 3,500 inhabitants, located directly on the Russian border. Unemployment is high and, as a small town, Salla doesn't have much money for marketing. ‘That's why we have to be creative to draw attention to our concerns,’ says Paula, explaining the Finnish community's protest campaign. "Climate change is a problem that affects us all. Maybe our Olympic bid can shake things up a bit."
Salla Wilderness Park is located directly at the entrance to the Salla National Park, which was established three years ago and stretches all the way to the Russian border. ‘But we have been here since 1996 with our outdoor tourism offers. We also advise and inform visitors as the Visitor Centre and nature exhibition of Salla National Park is in the same building.’ The extensive exhibition brings people closer to the diverse nature and its complex interrelationships in the national park.
Paula is aware that she lives and works directly on the Green Belt. "There are several national parks and nature reserves lined up along 130 kilometres on both sides of the border. It's a green corridor that is becoming increasingly important for plants and animals in the face of climate change." She reports on many cross-border projects with Russia. ‘For example, we have jointly developed information boards to draw attention to the importance of this huge wilderness.’ A Norwegian architect has designed ‘shop windows into the wilderness’. Some of them the information boards and investments for natur protection have been made in Russia, some in Norway and some in Finland during the Phenomena of Arctic Nature Project. ‘We have learnt a lot from each other.’
For many years, Russian travel groups also booked tours in Salla. "But this business collapsed in 2014 after the occupation of Crimea. ‘The rouble lost value, so travelling became too expensive for most people from Russia.’
As the manager and co-owner of Salla Wilderness Park, Paula tries to bring tourists from all over Europe closer to the wilderness in Lapland. "We offer reindeer and husky sledding tours and snowshoe hikes in winter and canoe and mountain bike tours in summer. Founded in 1996, the company has focused on sustainability right from the start. "That's why we don't offer tours with snowmobiles or motorised safaris. "But we can't be 100 per cent sustainable, as most of our guests arrive by plane. We compensate for this by donating to nature conservation or renaturation projects." This commitment to sustainable tourism has been recognised with the ‘Sustainable Finland’ label.
The Salla Wilderness Park also includes a reindeer farm. Around 60 animals live on a 200-hectare fenced-in area. ‘This is very important for our guests, as they can get very close to the animals here.’ Paula also enjoys being with the animals. A few loud calls and they come running, including many small calves that are only a few weeks old. Paula feeds the animals from time to time. Reindeer manager Lars, who is responsible for the herd, takes a critical look to make sure everything is okay with the animals.
In her free time, Paula goes into the wilderness, where tourists no longer come. "Only the locals have small huts there and enjoy the solitude. And when I go up a mountain and can see for 100 kilometres on a clear day, I know why I live here," says Paula. ‘I only go into the city when I have to.’ She is regularly in Berlin at the International Tourism Exchange, for example, to market Salla and her company.
