Uutela Nature Trail Are Given on the Last Page of This Guidebook

UUutelautela NNatureature TrailTrail

5 Welcome to Uutela!

Uutela is the largest and most naturally diversifi ed The checkpoint descriptions include recreational area in East Helsinki. It includes some simple nature trail exercises rugged glaciated rock formations, coastal scenes that may be fun to try, especially bordered by fl ood meadows and alder trees, for children. You may fi nd that forest and marshland, old summer houses, and binoculars and a notebook are the historically important features and grazing helpful in completing these exercises, lands of Skata Farm. but such aids are not essential. The answers to specifi c exercise questions Uutela Nature Trail are given on the last page of this guidebook. The nature trail at Uutela consists of two walking tours of diff ering length forming a fi gure of 8 There are campfi re shelters at 15 pattern. Visitors are free to follow either or both Niemenapaja and Nuottaniemi of these tours. The Forests and Grazing Lands where you may picnic in scenic of Uutela Tour is about 2,500 metres in length. surroundings. You will fi nd the starting point and information board for this tour by the roadside in Uutelantie. The Gloe Lakes and Flood Meadows Tour is about Some things to remember: 1,500 metres long. The starting point for this tour • Do not drop litter or otherwise is near the Särkkäniemi Nature Conservation damage the environment. Area car park. Most of the nature trail follows • Stay on the path, especially public footpaths. The route is signposted and between April and July. marked with green and white ribbon. There are • Cycling is prohibited in the fi fteen checkpoints along the route at locations Särkkäniemi Nature indicated by numbered posts as shown in the Conservation Area. picture to the right. You will fi nd descriptions and explanations of these checkpoints in the • Fires may not be set except at following pages of this guidebook. the special camp fi re shelters marked on the route map. What should I take on a nature trail? Choose suitable outdoor clothing and footwear according to the weather. Although most of the nature trail is fairly easy to negotiate, there are also some more challenging stretches in tour 2 that are marked on the map on the following page of this guidebook.

– 2 – – 3 – Uutela Nature Trail Uutela information board

Starting point for Nature Trail, route 1 Camp ﬁ re shelter

Starting point for Nature Trail, route 2 Car park

Nature Trail, Toilets route 1

Café Nature Trail, route 2 Fishing prohibited

Nature Trail Checkpoint Protected areas and important natural sites – 4 – – 5 – Welcome to the Owing to the rocky terrain, logging was Paridae bird forest not commercially viable in this part of You are surrounded here by bilberry forest the formerly private and rocky pine stands. The most common kind forests of Vuosaari of tree in bilberry forest is the spruce, which Manor. The forests else- imposes greater demands on its location than where on the estate were the pine tree. Here you should be able to fi nd logged and they are nowadays plants that are typical of young coniferous forest much younger than these rocky pine stands. 1 areas: the twinfl ower and chickweed wintergreen are delicate species that follow the Uutela is the largest continuous forest area in East contours of the ground. The twinfl ower blooms Helsinki where bird species that prefer natural 2 in mid summer, while the chickweed winter- forest may be observed. Have you been lucky green already fl owers in the early summer. enough to see, or at least hear the noisy black 3 woodpecker, the owl-like hooting of the wood This is an area where the environment has pigeon, the gentle tsree call of the treecreeper, 4 been preserved in an almost natural state. or the ti-ti tsaa tsaa call of the willow tit? 5

Willow tit Parus montanus 9

Twinﬂ ower Chickweed wintergreen 15 Linnaea borealis Trientalis europaea – 6 – – 7 – Stone against ice: a struggle of titans

More than ten thousand years ago this very spot The rock of the cliff was covered by an ice sheet almost one kilometre partly comprises dark thick. The immensely strong bedrock was gabbro, which occurs compressed and scraped by the colossal power rarely in Finland. Gabbro is of ice. The outcome was a smooth rockface an alkaline rock that sustains leading to an impressive cliff face that the ice growth on the cliff of normally fastidious ferns 1 was unable to grind down. such as maidenhair spleenwort. There are gaps in the cliff where green polypody grows, even in the winter. Can you see it growing there now? 2

4 1000 m 5

500 m 9

12 Green polypody Polypodium vulgare 13 0 m 14

– 8 – – 9 – Beach life

Any plant or small animal living on a coastline Have you spotted must be highly adaptable. It must withstand any diving ducks or moisture, the baking, desiccating heat of the elegant mute swans sun, and the impact of salty seawater. Shoreline in the oﬀ shore waters? plants need to be tough, with strong roots to They come here to feed prevent them from being carried away by waves, on seabed plants or to catch wind or ice. small ﬁ sh. And if you are really lucky, 1 then you might even catch a glimpse of a grey Variations in sea level and wave conditions are seal here! 2 constantly changing the appearance of the Nuottalahti shorelines. When the sea level is low you can search for seashells in the sand, while 3 at high water it is a good time to observe the EXERCISE: forms taken by rock faces. And who knows what Can you draw a water bird in your note- delights the sea has washed up on the beach? book? 4 5

Goosander 14 Mergus merganser 15

– 10 – – 11 – Death is a new beginning bracket fungus ass “dessert” followingg Dead and decaying timber is vital to many the main course.e. organisms. Woodpeckers and certain Paridae The most commonon birds are only too happy to fashion their nooks bracket fungi, suchuch in softened wood. The owl, goldeneye duck and as red-belt fungusus or great tit use existing nooks for nesting, food tinder fungus, willl attackattack storage and shelter from cold weather. Uutela any kind of tree, whilewhile rarer has many old trees, dead and dried out pine, varieties only infectfect a certain 1 broken and rotting birch, and fallen, decaying species of timber such as spruce or aspen. spruce. 2

Fungi help timber to decay from the inside out. EXERCISE: 3 A study of the tree trunk shows which bracket How many diff erent types of bracket or other fungus dwells within. It is easiest to fi nd fungus can you spot? How many living the conk of a well-developed bracket fungus that species did you fi nd on a single dead 4 has been growing for many years, while young tree trunk? and soft bracket fungi can only be found in the autumn. Some bracket fungi are most particular 5 in their choice of company, and only take up The path towards the cape leads to a resting spot 6 residence in the wake of another specifi c type of where you are free to take a break to admire the sea view! 7

14 False tinder fungus Tawny owl Phellinus igniarius Strix aluco 15 – 12 – – 13 – Farmers and burrowers

To the right of the trail you can see a valley that also been occupieded has been farmland for generations, but was by raccoon dogs. In originally shallow seabed. An uplifting of the larger dens of this kkindind clay soil in this area created a fertile area fortiﬁ ed a raccoon dog cann lliveive with seabed nutrients. The area was farmed for in the upper levelsls wwhilehile some years before it passed into the hands of the a badger dwells below.below. TheThe Helsinki Worker’s Institute students’ association, allotments and ditchesitches pproviderovide a 1 and was parcelled out to allotment gardeners. source of food for both types of animal. Badgers The vegetables grown on these allotments were like to eat roots, earthworms and berries, while 2 a welcome addition to the diet of many local the omnivorous raccoon dog is happy with people in the 1950s, when fresh vegetables almost anything edible, ranging from frogs to 3 were not always available in the shops. These the pickings of human refuse. 100 square metre patches are nowadays used for 4 growing vegetables, berry bushes and ornamental plants. SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT: 5 There are some burrows in the ground on the left What would you like to grow if you were side of the trail. Badgers dug these holes using the an allotment holder here? 6 long claws of their forepaws. The burrows have 7

14 Badger Meles meles 15 – 14 – – 15 – Visitors displace locals

This area has also become a new home for predators, and theireir uninvited guests that are diffi cult to evict. Alien consequent rapidid species like the giant hogweed or the rabbit may spread denies livingving be pretty to look at, but they can cause a lot of space to indigenousnous damage to the indigenous environment. Other plants and animals.s. invaders that have settled in Finland include the raccoon dog that spread into Finland from The fragrant Himalayanalayan bbalsamalsam is 1 Russia, the mute swan brought from China, another invasive variety encountered here. This mink that have escaped from fur farms, and plant has spread from gardens and allotments 2 the Canada goldenrod formerly cultivated into surrounding uncultivated areas. It thrives only in gardens. Alien species are disruptive, in lush, damp environments such as groves, 3 because they are not held in check by natural ditches and the fl uff y soils of spruce mires. 4

Himalayan balsam 9 Impatiens glandulifera 10

14 Raccoon dog Nyctereutes procyonoides 15 – 16 – – 17 – The old Scots pine of things come to pass. The valley has seen it all spread out before me has always been I have been growing here since the birth of farmed, but in my Alexander II, Czar of Russia and Grand Duke of youth it was a place for Finland, nearly 200 years ago. I am proud of my growing rye, as well as advanced age, and of the thickness and beauty long grass in damper areas of my shield bark compared to younger pine to make hay for draught oxen. trees. Over the years I have seen all manner 1 When the Russians bombed the almost uninhabited district of Vuosaari in 1944 I 2 thought I would soon be reduced to cinders. 3 Helsinki city centre escaped damage by an organized widespread blackout, while fi res were 4 lit in Vuosaari to mislead the bomber pilots. Luckily I escaped the fl ames at that time, because 5 only nowadays could my shield bark survive the heat of a major fi re. 6

EXERCISE: 13 Why not make some toy sheep out of pine- Pine cones with sticks for legs, the way children Pinus sylvestris used to do? You can also use smaller sticks 14 for the horns on the head of a ram. Eero Järnefelt: Pine sketch 15

– 18 – – 19 – The call of history The buildings of Skata Farm at the The view from here is of a rural landscape crossroads date fashioned over the centuries. This area was forest from the late 19th before the arrival of man. The newcomers cleared century. These were the forest initially to create fi elds for crops, and self-sufficient times, later used the land for animal grazing. Without when grain and veget this use for grazing, the open landscape would bles were grown locally and soon take on the appearance of a coppice before fi sh were caught in local waters. 1 fi nally reverting to forest once again. The farm would probably have a draught horse, with a few dairy cows, some pigs and some 2 But why is there a heap of stones in the fi eld? chickens. After the wars the horse was replaced by a tractor, the meadows became grain fi elds Before the age of heavy machinery, lumps of 3 stone were lifted from the ground by hand and and cattle were no longer kept. carried to these piles in horse-drawn barrows! 4 Hay was cut from the fi eld with scythes, and if This is the end of the fi rst tour of the nature the blade struck a stone, then it would lose its trail. You may continue on the second tour 5 edge. This made it important to clear the stones through Särkkäniemi Nature Conservation away. Area, or return to the starting point. You will 6 fi nd answers to the exercises on page 15 of 7 The fi elds of Mustiala Institute. I. K. Inha, the checkpoint descriptions. Finnish agriculture, 1899. (Detail) 8

– 20 – – 21 – Bats abound

Bats are the nocturnal predators of coastal permit, they may woodlands, devouring insects in huge quantities also nest together on warm summer nights. Uutela is a good place in sizeable colonies. to see the swift-fl ying northern bat, which is well adapted to urban environments, as well as the You can help bats by whiskered bat that prefers a forest life, and the building a bat box where bats water bat that preys along shorelines. can sleep by day without fear of 1 owls, cats or other predators. These bats can cover quite considerable distances in dry weather under cover of darkness, provided 2 that the night temperature does not fall below about fi ve degrees Celsius. During the colder 3 months they hibernate in cool, dark and enclosed EXERCISE: places such as cellars. Some species even migrate Have you ever seen a bat? Can you fi nd 4 south for the winter. Bats also favour the roof the bat box near the checkpoint? spaces of old buildings. If size and conditions 5

– 22 – – 23 – The coastal lagoons 3-angled stem. The distinct crackly call and gloe lakes of Uutela of the sedge warbler clearly indicates that On both sides of the trail you can see a speciality this bird enjoys the of Uutela: coastal lagoons and gloe lakes. The shelter of the reedbed slow uplifting of land following the last ice age in early summer. creates shallow coastal lagoons. If a sandbank forms at the entrance to the bay, then the bay Male frogs call the females to the will gradually constrict forming a gloe lake or pond during the spawning season in spring. Can 1 pond that is only linked to the sea during high you hear them croaking? The female selects the water. This gloe lake will subsequently dry out male that fertilises the spawn that she deposits 2 to form an open fl ood meadow that gradually in the water. The eggs then hatch into tadpoles gives way to forest. that remain in the pond as they grow into tiny 3 frogs. It’s OK to look at these creatures, but you The southern gloe lake is hidden under vege- mustn’t touch them, as frogs and their spawn 4 tation. This is usually common reed together are protected by law. with the rarer sea club-rush with its characteristic 5 Dragonfl ies sparkle like jewels as they dart here and there. These advanced fl ying skills 6 Common reed are essential, as dragonfl ies prey on smaller Phragmites australis fl ying insects. Their larvae also terrorise the 7 underwater environment, where they feed on a wide variety of small creatures. 8 You will fi nd checkpoint 11 by turning round and retracing your steps for a short distance. 9

Frog Rana temporaria 10

EXERCISE: 11 Dragonfl y Odonata (order) Close your eyes and count howw mamanyny distinct natural sounds you can hear. 12 Where are these sounds coming from? 13 Any children in your group might enjoy singing the frog song We all stand 14 Sedge warbler together! Acrocephalus schoenobaenus 15 – 24 – – 25 – Desperately seeking salt embankments, and on gravel ridges in The Uutela coastlines are stony, and the fl ood southern Finland. meadow is only a narrow strip of land. The plants Beach speedwell is that grow near the water’s edge in seacoast fl ood a handsome plant meadows are typically saltmarsh rush, seaside with blue, spike-shaped arrowgrass and centaurium. These species are fl owers that you will fi nd known as halophytes or salt plants, as they cannot growing on the shorelines survive without a high salt content in the soil. of Särkkäniemi together with 1 The salinity of the Baltic Sea diminishes in the chives, the smallest species in the onion family. more remote reaches of the Gulf of Finland and the Gulf of Bothnia, which makes it harder for You are free to take a closer look at the natural 2 halophytes to grow in these areas. wonders of this coastal area by continuing along this path and rejoining the nature trail a little 3 The short, yellow birdsfoot trefoil grows in further along. Please note, however, that the coastal sands and meadows, and fl owers in beach path can be wet in places and part of the 4 June-July. Birdsfoot trefoil is not just a coastal route passes over duckboards. plant, but also occurs on roadsides and railway 5

6 EXERCISE: Can you estimate the salt content of sea- 7 water oﬀ the coast of Helsinki? 8

14 Beach speedwell Birdsfoot trefoil Veronica longifolia Lotus corniculatus 15 – 26 – – 27 – Wide-open spaces

The sea view across Skatanselkä from this Storms pile up large checkpoint stretches all the way to the islands of quantities of bladder Musta Hevonen and Kuiva Hevonen. This coast- wrack seaweed on line varies daily according to wave conditions the shore in autumn. and the southwesterly wind. The view is greyish Bladder wrack is packed in overcast weather, whereas the reﬂ ected glare with nutrients and provides from the sea on sunny days makes the islands an excellent substrate for many 1 appear almost black by contrast. What colours plants that thrive in salty conditions. The sea- dominate the landscape today? weed pile also provides a diversiﬁ ed micro- environment populated by small arthropods 2 e.g. midges: a world within a world. 3

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.11. 12. 13. 14. 15.16.17.18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 7

EXERCISE: 11 1) Can you identify and name the islands that are visible from here? 2) Take a pebble from the beach and feel 12 it in your hand. Is the surface rough or smooth? 13

14 Bladder wrack Fucus vesiculosus 15 – 28 – – 29 – Shoals beneath the waves

A pike lurks by the shore waiting to pounce on passing minnows. Striped perch fry are swimming together with eyes peeled for predators. Farther out to sea herring and sprat are moving in a large shoal. Freshwater perch and seawater herring can come into contact off the coast at Uutela. Such encounters are 1 possible because the brackish water of the Baltic Sea is a halfway house for both species. EXERCISE: 2 Imagine that you are a fi sh swimming The sea here is also home to whitefi sh and in the surf. What do the ships visiting salmon. Although both of these predatory fi sh Vuosaari Harbour look like from your 3 species are native to the Gulf of Finland, much fi sh-eye point of view? How do you think of the present stock has been specially bred the propellers of small motor boats and 4 for planting. Artifi cial restocking of fi sh has large freighters sound to the ears of become necessary, because natural spawning a fi sh? 5 is no longer successful in many river locations. 6

13 Herring Perch Clupea harengus membras Perca ﬂ uviatilis 14

15 – 30 – – 31 – By the dusky light This is what often gives spruce mires of a spruce mire their dusky and enchanted atmos- Spruce mires form when coniferous forest phere. How easily becomes waterlogged. This process begins can you imagine a when more water collects in low-lying areas gnome or elf peeping than can ﬂ ow away or evaporate. A spruce mire out from behind a spruce will then form when there is plentiful vegetation tree? and moving, acidic water. Many fastidious plant 1 species thrive in these areas. 2 As plants with a high tolerance of shade and excess EXERCISE: water, spruce trees are quite comfortable under Can you remember any songs about 3 such conditions. They eﬀ ectively overshadow and elves and gnomes that live in the forest? smother other types of tree that require more light. 4

Peikko: Klampe-Lampe. John Bauer, 1909 5

15 – 32 – – 33 – Thanks for coming!

The nature trail ends here. We hope your visit 18. Tammaluoto was rewarding! You can return from here to the (Märaskrinet) starting point at the Särkkäniemi parking area, 19. Pihlajaluoto or head towards Aurinkolahti to fi nd the start (Rönnskär) of the second nature trail tour. More energetic 20. Nuottakari visitors may also head for Skatanniemi cape to (Notgrundet) admire its splendid glaciated rock formations 21. Iso Leikosaari 1 and sea view. This also provides an opportunity (Stora Lekholmen) to view some fortifi cation equipment dating 22. Skatanniemi (Skataudden) from the First World War. 2 We hope to see you again! 3 Other nature trails in Helsinki: 1. Haltiala 4 Answers to exercises 2. Kivinokan Puumerkkipolku 11. The salt content of seawater off the coast of 3. Viikarien Viikki, lasten luontopolku 5 Helsinki varies between 4 and 7 parts per 4. Maunula thousand. This is roughly 4 to 7 teaspoons 5. Niskala arboretum 6 of salt per fi ve litre of water. 6. Pornaistenniemi ( 7. Slåttmossen) 7 12. Names of the islands and features visible 8. Viikki arboretum from checkpoint 12: www.hkr.hel.fi /luontopolut 8 1. Vuosaari Harbour 2. Mölandet 3. Pikku Niinisaari (Lilla Bastön) 4. Skogsholmen 9 5. Krokholmen 6. Krokholmshället 5. 10 7. Tallholmen 8. Svarta Hästen (Musta-Hevonen) 1. 7. 11 9. Pentarn 10. Handskholmen (Hanskinen) 12 8. 11. Torrhästklobbarna 4. 12. Torra Hästen (Kuiva-Hevonen) 3. 13 6. 13. Estlotan (Eestiluoto) 2. 14. Träsklandet 14 15. Granlandet 16. Itätoukki (Östertokan) 17. Kuminapaasi (Kumminhället) 15

– 34 – NATURE TRAIL 2: The Gloe Lakes* and Flood Meadows

NATURE TRAIL 1: The Forests and Grazing Lands of Uutela

*The Gloe lakes are a coastal lagoon separated from the ocean by a natural earth bank. Salt water may enter the lagoon during high seas. The Gloe lakes are formed as the land rises from the sea.

❀ Publisher City of Helsinki Public Works Department ❀ Text Susanna Pimenoﬀ , 1 Yrjö Ala-Heikkilä ❀ Drawings Zdravko Kolev, Krister Welander, Pirkko Jäntti ❀ Map Yrjö Ala-Heikkilä ❀ Layout Jaana Rautio ❀ Press Paintek Pihlajamäki Oy, Helsinki, 2014

(09) 310 39000

If you no longer use the Nature Trail brochure, please return it to Vuosaari Library, Café Kampela, or give it to a friend as a gift.