Finland is known for many world competitions:
Heavy Metal Knitting World Championships
World Wife Carrying Championships
But one world championship uniquely mirrors the Finland national passion:
Tree Hugging World Championships
The Swedes have a joke about the Finns:
Why are there no Finns on the moon?
They went, but there was no wood.
Finland is consistently named the “world’s happiest country” https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/where-women-govern/202303/why-fins-are-the-happiest-people
More than 70% of Finland is covered by trees and almost 10% is covered by lakes. Nature has always formed the basis of the Finnish way of life. Finland’s rise to prosperity is based on expertise in using renewable natural resources sustainably. Every Finn truly has an individual connection to nature; more than 80% of Finnish people say the forest is important to them.
Finland is a world leader in sustainable forest management. Commercial forestry must take into account forest biodiversity and carbon sinks. There’s a policy of planting three seedlings for every tree harvested, and logging never exceeds forest growth. Today there is over 50% more timber than 50 years ago.
The Finnish concept of Every Person’s Right means that anybody may hike, camp, and gather mushrooms and berries in any forest, regardless of who owns it. The Finnish relationship with the natural world goes beyond rest and relaxation and into business expertise.
Finnish forest ownership and forest management are all about values and traditions.