Our Path
Meijän polku, “Our Path”, is a 30-year initiative promoting community health and well being. Advocating the well being of the Central Finnish population is focused on four themes: nature, physical activity, rest and community. Our Path strives for a more healthy and prosperous Central Finland by encouraging people to spend time, exercise and gain vitality in near-by-nature and forests. Our slogan is move and enjoy yourself in Central Finland. In recent years, Our Path’s activities have expanded to other parts of Finland and beyond our borders too.
According to the WHO data (2018) life expectancy of Finnish males and females is 78.8 and 84.2 respectively, which gives Finland a world ranking of 21. Although not a poor placement, several challenges still exist. Beside the persistence of traditional cardiovascular risk factors (i.e. sedentary lifestyle, obesity and smoking) related to a person’s quality of life, newer risks, such as involuntary loneliness and anxiety, are becoming more prominent. Relaxing and/or exercising regularly (daily or several times a week) in a nearby nature can have a profound effect on both the traditional risk factors and well being. Also, visiting the Central Finland’s national parks and silent nature reserves, is encouraged, serving as a source of most authentic nature experience. However, because of their more remote location they are not plausible for daily visits.
Our Path is based on voluntary involvement of the active members, including professionals from the fields of health care, physical education, educational establishments and national institute of parks&wildlife. Our Path is supported by organizations like Central Finland Health Care District, Central Finland Sport Federation, Jyväskylä University of Applied Science, University of Jyväskylä and LIKES Research Centre for Physical Activity.
Our Path aims on a slow, but long-lasting out-door life oriented behavioral change in the population. Time span is 30 years, beginning from 2017. Operational goals vary with different population segments (active/sedentary, young/old, healthy/people with chronic illnesses) and ongoing trends of society. From 2020 onwards the health related use of local nature locations and forests is promoted among local population under multiple concepts, such as Keski-Suomen terveysmetsä (Central Finland Health Forests) and Meijän metsät (Our Forests).
At the same time tools for both municipalities and individual citizens are developed to make physically active lifestyle and nature contacts more accessible for all. Also, for self-acting individuals and groups, different kinds of activity challenges like stair climbing, nature walks, biking and sauna are presented on our website. These challenges have been tailored for all seasons, for all weather conditions and they are free-of charge.
Some of our initiatives
Increasing our time in nature and exercise offers ways to promote well-being and health at an individual, regional and national level. In the 3–30–300 Nature Recommendation we elevate natural environments and the time spent in them as one of the pillars of good health, alongside the more traditional healthy diet, sufficient exercise and sufficient sleep. In fact, we go even further, as diverse nature creates the foundation for all human well-being.
✅ Visit nature at least 3 times a week.
✅ Spend at least 30 minutes in the nature at a time.
✅ Try to spend a total of 300 minutes in nature every week.
The local nature with its many possibilities is the Central Finnish health forest. And we all have the right to enjoy our diverse natural environment both physically and psychologically.
In the Meijän metsät (Our Forests) concept, we started to look at the nearby nature as a treasure chest of the area’s well-being, health and vitality. And how we can ensure more and more diverse opportunities for everyone to stay, move and enjoy the nature that surrounds us.
The first Finnish Outdoor Office Day (Luontotyöpäivä) was celebrated in different parts of Finland on Friday, May 21, 2021. The purpose of Outdoor Office Day is to lower the threshold of going out into nature as part of everyday work. And also to bring nature into work if going outside during the work day is not possible.
Since spring 2023, Finnish Outdoor Office Day has been celebrated as a week-long event – Outdoor Office Day Week (Luontotyöpäiväviikko).
The first Trail Week was held on the 16th–22th of September 2020. The idea of this week is to activate the usage of nature trails and to raise awareness about the positive health benefits of nature. Since then, the Trail Week has been held every year in the third week of September. In 2025, the Trail Week will expand to all of Finland!
Local nature is the cradle of Finnish exercise and movement. Almost all Finns exercise in the nature around their home, some daily and some less often. Local nature also creates the framework for the most popular forms of exercise, such as walking, Nordic walking, skiing and cycling.
This website has information about local nature and ideas for bringing local nature into people’s everyday lives and, above all, inspiring people to exercise and spend time in local nature every day of the year.
Luontopysäkit (Nature stops) is a project, launched in Jyväskylä, Finland to map and connect the city’s diverse forest trails to the local public transportation system, Linkki. Accessing forest trails with a familiar bus system could be one way of lowering the threshold for getting out in urban nature and thereby distribute the health benefits of nature more evenly to the general population. Most of Jyväskylä natural sites are located along local bus routes or less than five hundred meters from these.
