LAHTI

Climate change is no longer a threat of the future but a part of everyday life. Climate Mentors, Anni Pokela and Sara Yrjönmäki, want to find new ways to talk about it — and, above all, to take action.

Forerunner companies Woodio and Ren-Gas chose Lahti because it offered them the best solutions. In return, Lahti gains vitality and even more sustainability.

The European Green Capital year 2021 strengthened Lahti's reputation and multiplied its visibility both nationally and internationally. How has the development continued since then?

Planetary health highlights the link between environmental conditions and human well-being. Contact with nature enriches the human microbiome, strengthens the immune system, and helps protect against disease. In Lahti and the Päijät-Häme region, this work is driven by extensive collaboration.

The environmental education programme brings nature into the everyday lives of all comprehensive school pupils in Lahti, offering equal opportunities to experience local nature and explore themes of sustainable development. In outdoor lessons tested during the pilot phase, students learned school subjects through hands-on activities in the forest. Lahti aims to strengthen children’s connection to nature and their ability to concentrate in a digital age.

Beautiful and high-quality construction stands the test of time, lasting from generation to generation. It creates buildings that people grow attached to. Lahti City Hall, designed by Eliel Saarinen in 1912, is a landmark in the history of Finnish architecture.

The circular economy model created in Lahti by Hartwall, Lahti Energy and the local Yli-Mäkelä estate is unique even on a global scale.

Ahti Pulli, an ecology and evolutionary biology student, studies the biodiversity of meadows and their role in preserving nature's diversity. He believes that nature provides not only scientific knowledge but also comfort and a sense of connection in daily life.