Wherever you go in Finland, you’re never far from a forest or a park. Our photographer takes a walk in the woods and finds imaginative hideouts children have made from branches, sticks and leaves.
In the pale light of a spring morning, a blackbird’s song drifts through the awakening woods – and somewhere among the pines and the budding birches, kids are building a fort out of sticks. For families in Finland, the forest is more than backdrop; it’s a playground, storyteller and sanctuary, all at once.
Can you hear that blackbird singing?
The spring sun shines so brightly that it almost hurts your eyes. The first flowers of the season unfurl, willow catkins gradually open, squirrels race along tree trunks and rabbits stop to groom their paws.
And then, just like that, they appear – forts made out of sticks, nestled in the forest. Each day they grow more elaborate: walls of interwoven twigs and roofs of spring leaves reaching for the sky – until one morning the forest floor lies undisturbed again.
They have vanished.
People in Finland highly value their bond with nature – a connection often formed in early childhood. After all, over 70 percent of Finland’s land area is blanketed by forest, and even in the largest cities, a green refuge is never more than a short walk away.
Urban green spaces deliver proven health benefits: they lift moods, ease stress and help guard against depression. Time among trees also supports physical wellbeing, lowering the risk of heart and cardiovascular disease.
In Finland’s living landscapes, everyone can take a moment to pause, breathe deeply and simply be.
Did you ever build a stick fort as a child? If not, you may have missed out on pure magic.
If so, congratulations – you know that rush of freedom and endless possibilities when every fallen branch and leafy frond in the woods could become a pole or panel for your secret hideaway.
And when the perfect twig or board wasn’t there, imagination filled the gap. That is the stick-fort builder’s world.
In Finnish families, spending time in the nature often comes naturally.
A quick day trip to a nearby lake, a weekend in a tent at a forest campground, berry picking along sun-dappled trails, the quiet joy of birdwatching – these little adventures are woven into everyday family life.
Daycare teachers even bring their toddlers to visit the woods regularly. The kids discover mossy clearings and fallen logs with wide-eyed wonder.
The forest isn’t dark or forbidding; it’s a place of fairytale magic and homemade stick forts, where every child’s imagination can roam free.
Who lives within those twig walls? Even when empty, the stick forts feel alive, each one infused with its own secret spirit.
Are those curious eyes flickering in the shadows? Is that a gentle smile peeking through the branches?
Or is that summer itself, drifting in on a warm breeze to take its rightful place, at long last?
Text and photos by Emilia Kangasluoma, May 2025
Source: finland.fi
