Wunder participates in saving a rare forest in Lapland
Instead of sending chocolate, postcards, or Christmas flowers, we wanted to provide good and wintery feelings with an extremely long-lasting effect. The hundreds of years old trees, surrounded by untouched nature at Čáháligvääri (Maahisenvaara, Gnome Hill) in Inari, Lapland are the kind of Christmas trees that we love – so much that we wish them to remain untouched for the oncoming centuries as well. Therefore donating to the Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation is the Wunder Way this year.
We at Wunder have a long history and tradition for giving a Holiday Season Donation – to cheer up our stakeholders and share some good spirits. Since growing together, sustainability and collaboration are in our value DNA, and donating to ensure the preservation of a rare, untouched forest in Inari, Lapland felt really natural to us. And yes, we admit that the breathtaking scenery and the name, Čáháligvääri (Maahisenvaara, Gnome Hill) that honors the Sámi culture, Lapland’s magic and “creatures of the forest” made us fall in love with this particular and rare forest estate.
Nature whispering from thousands of years ago
The Čáháligvääri forest is one of the last remaining, untouched natural forests in Europe. This forest has existed free from human intervention since the ice age. The growth rings on the oldest pine trees that have been studied in Upper Lapland go back almost 8,000 years. These ancient trees have been found in the bottom of lakes, where they were preserved in the mud.
The thousand-year-old natural forests on the northern shores of Lake Inari are not just a wilderness; they are also used as pasture land for the Muddusjärvi reindeer herding cooperative and are part of the Sámi cultural landscape. The old forests with their arboreal lichen are extremely important for the survival of the reindeer over winter.
The etymology of the name
In Sámi mythology, the Inari Sámi word Čáhálig refers to a forest spirit that guards the treasure, and you had to ask its permission before you could pitch camp in the forest.
If you wish to learn more about The Finnish Natural Heritage Foundationopens-in-a-new-tab or about Čáháligvääriopens-in-a-new-tab, please do visit their site. But be aware, that you also might end up saving some rare forests.
So with these mesmerizing, wintery landscapes, whispers from thousands of years ago, donation news, and thankful thoughts for this year, we wish you all a very pleasant Holiday Season and all the best for 2022.