Nature trips to discover the urban nature – also in English
In May, we head to Lake Iidesjärvi, Lake Vähäjärvi in Härmälä and Villilänsaari
The nature trip season starts with a trip to Lake Iidesjärvi on Sunday 4.5. Iidesjärvi is Tampere's most famous bird lake, and the excursion will focus on the area's birdlife, which is at its most abundant in spring. The tour is led by biologist Lasse Kosonen. The meeting point is at 10 am at the western end of Lake Iidesjärvi at Lokintaipalee.
Water birds also nest in the small Vähäjärvi lake in Härmälä and small birds in its shoreline forest. The Vähäjärvi excursion will take place on Sunday 11 May at 10 a.m. The nature walk will be guided also by Lasse Kosonen.
On Thursday 22 May there is chance to slow down and deepen the interaction between humans and the nature on trip to Lake Iidesjärvi, guided by environmental biologist Tuomas Lilleberg. The hike includes a walk along the Iidesjärvi nature path and a visit to the former Nekala waste disposal site and Iidesjärvi Park. The meeting point is at 17:00 at the western end of Lake Iidesjärvi at the Lokintaipale bridge.
Villilänsaari is one of the best places in Tampere to hear the spring song concert of small birds. On Sunday 25 May, Lasse Kosonen will guide you through the island's nature. Meeting at 8.00 am at the Villilänsaari parking lot.
In May wild vegetable tours – Haihara tour in English
A good opportunity to discover the spring nature and its bounty on wild vegetables is to join walks with Tuomas Lilleberg. You will learn to identify and collect a few wild vegetables for food. You do not need previous experience, but an interest in wild vegetables is enough.
Registration is required for the wild vegetable tours. The tours start at 17:00. The Haihara wild vegetable tour on Thursday 15 May is in English. There will be also two other wild vegetable tour in May to Kaukaniemi and Tohloppi in Finnish.
Opening trips to the renovated nature paths and mushroom trip in English in Hervantajärvi
Until the end of August, a wide range of nature excursions will be offered, exploring Tampere's many interesting natural areas. The new Viikinsaari nature path will be opened on 1 June, while the new Rantaperkiö nature path will be opened in late summer on 17 August.
There are weekly excursions to interesting places in different parts of Tampere. In August, there will be a wild mushroom excursion in Vuores and in Reuharinniemi and an English-language mushroom excursion in Hervantajärvi. Hervantajärvi forest area provides diverse habitats for mushrooms to grow. On these tour you’ll know more about edible mushrooms in Finland and how to recognize, pick and use them.
Nature trips for school-age children to Tohloppi, Vihioja, Hikivuori and Peltolampi
Children will explore the local nature on their own excursions with Tuomas Lilleberg, exploring, adventuring and wondering. The excursions start at 12 noon. The first is the Tohlop swamp and water excursion on Tuesday 10.6. The exploratory trip to Vihioja will take place on Tuesday 17.6. The third excursion on Saturday 30.8. will be an adventure on the exciting Hikivuori. On Saturday 27 September, we will explore the life and wildlife of the autumn forest in the Peltolammi-Pärrinkoski nature conservation area.
Children's excursions must be booked in advance. The recommended age range for children's excursions is 8–12 years. A parent or caregiver can accompany the children on the excursions.
Part of Tampere biodiversity programme
The annual nature trips are part of Tampere's biodiversity programme. One of the programme's objectives is to make Tampere residents aware of the values of their local nature and to encourage them to take action for the benefit of local nature.
