Led by Parks & Wildlife Finland, the project combines broad-based cooperation, research, capacity building and concrete actions aimed at safeguarding biodiversity.

“Although Priodiversity LIFE is the largest project of its kind in Finland’s history, we cannot stop biodiversity loss on our own. Environmental educators and other education professionals are at the forefront of sharing knowledge about the importance of biodiversity and motivating people in Finland to take nature-positive action. That is why our cooperation with ULOS–UT–OUT is particularly important,” says Lead Project Manager Viliina Evokari.

Priodiversity LIFE <3 UUO

Priodiversity LIFE brings its own biodiversity-themed programme track to ULOS–UT–OUT, featuring, among other highlights, a keynote by Ilari E. Sääksjärvi, a biodiversity-loss-themed performance by the improvisation group Stella Polaris, and several workshops.

Explore the Priodiversity LIFE programme track and sign up for the workshops!

Keynote: Biodiversity and nature loss (Luonnon monimuotoisuus ja luontokato) 10.6. klo 17.30 (EN)

Professor of Biodiversity Research Ilari E. Sääksjärvi specializes in research on biodiversity and environmental degradation. He has studied the biodiversity of the Amazon rainforest in particular and developed multidisciplinary biodiversity research. Sääksjärvi is a versatile science communicator. He heads the Department of Biodiversity Sciences at the University of Turku and the BIODIFUL research consortium, and serves as vice-chair of the Finnish Nature Panel.

Stella Polaris improvisational performance about the loss of nature 10.6. klo 18.30 (fi/sv/en)

After the Keynote lecture, the theme of nature loss is sure to take on a new and surprising perspective in the improvisational theater performance by Stella Polaris!

Workshops

Within one human summer, two generations of Small Copper can complete their life cycle. This short rhythm reminds us how quickly ecological time moves compared to human planning cycles. While the last individuals may still be seen into late autumn, the conditions needed for the next generation are shaped much earlier. A single decision to tidy everything at once—cutting all verges, smoothing the ground, removing leaf litter—can quietly reset these spaces before new life has a chance to establish. 

The Small Copper itself is not fragile in the traditional sense. It is well adapted to harsh, open and human-created environments: road verges, parks, rocky areas between buildings, even former gravel pits. What threatens it most is not human presence, but over-management and uniformity. Removing nettles, for example, does not directly harm the Small Copper, but it simplifies habitats and affects many other butterfly species whose caterpillars depend on them. Diversity at ground level matters. 

For Ulos–Ut–Out, the Small Copper offers a powerful metaphor. It does not require strict protection, but it does require space that is allowed to remain imperfect, varied and alive. In the same way, outdoor education does not thrive only in designated “natural” areas. It grows in the in-between spaces of cities, schools and youth work—where learning is not overly controlled, and where uncertainty, exploration and difference are tolerated. 

“Wilder is better” does not mean abandoning care, but choosing not to erase complexity. A brief flash of copper at the city’s edge is not decoration; it is a signal that we have left room—for species, for learners, and for forms of outdoor learning that need space to emerge on their own terms. 

Photo: Satu Hiekko

We are organizing a research symposium called Ihan villinä! (Going Out Wild!) at the ULOS-UT-OUT event on Tuesday, June 9, 2026. Come and present your research on this topic and hear about others’ research! We hope to see presentations from a wide range of fields. Presentations will be held outdoors and indoors.

In keeping with the spirit of the ULOS-UT-OUT event, by outdoor education research we mean research that in one way or another relates to teaching and learning that takes place outdoors, “under the open sky.” Outdoor education applies to all age groups, from early childhood education to old age. We also welcome research that promotes understanding and use of the outdoor learning environment and increases knowledge about the importance of outdoor teaching and learning for well-being and learning, for example. The research presented may be empirical or theoretical. We hope to receive presentations from a wide range of fields and perspectives.

Research symposium program Tue, June 9, 2026

Tuesday, June 9, 2026

9:00 a.m. Registration
9:30–9:50 a.m. Opening speeches for the research symposium
10:00–11:30 a.m. Presentations outdoors and indoors

Teema: From elements to holistic views (outdoors)

• Arja Kaasinen & Essi Aarnio-Linnanvuori: Elements of biodiversity education: How do experts in biodiversity and education define them? 
• Ayumu Ochi: Teachers’ Views on Climate Emotions in Finnish Nature Schools 
• Maria Svens: Risk och resiliens: säkerhetsfrågor ur erfarna finländska utomhuspedagogers perspektiv  

Teema: The benefits of outdoors in environmental and sustainability education (indoors)

• Anssi Huoponen, University of Eastern Finland; Annika Manni, Umeå University; Moritz Albrecht, University of Eastern Finland; Maija Halonen, University of Eastern Finland; Linda Lundmark, Umeå University: Self-sufficiency education in increasing youth climate change adaptation skills 
• Annika Manni, Umeå University, Sweden: Possibilities for sustainable encounters at different types of preschool playgrounds 
• Birgitte Theilmann & Hanne Værum Sørensen: Under the Open Sky: Water-Based Pedagogy in Nordic Nature Kindergartens 
• Anders Szczepanski: Kunskap i landskap – ut(i)från ett utomhuspedagogiskt och didaktiskt sammanhang (etänä) 

Teema: Benefits of outdoor education in various educational settings (indoors)

• Merike Kesler, Arja Kaasinen, Anttoni Kervinen, University of Helsinki: Thoughts of Finnish Pre-Service Teachers at Different Educational Levels on Outdoor Teaching and Learning 
• Harald Høgseth & Vibeke Gilje Sanne: Hvordan kan en tradisjonsbåt og et lokalsamfunn åpne opp for elevens læring og danning?  
• Karen Barfod, Mads Bølling, Michelle Stahlhut & Ulrich Dettweiler: How much outdoors is enough? A missing question in Education Outside the Classroom research 
• Szymon Godawa: From Self-Regulation to Eco-Regulation: Outdoor Education and Forest-Based Therapy as a Supportive Environment for Children on the Autism Spectrum 

11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Park lunch
12:30-13:00 Opening speeches for the ULOS-UT-OUT event
13:00-13:45 Keynote: Kirsipauliina Kallio, University of Tampere
14:00–15:30 Presentations:

Teema: Luontoyhteyden elinikäinen vahvistaminen (outdoors)

• Arja Kaasinen, Ulla Myllyniemi, Jarkko Lampiselkä & Päivi Kinnunen: Ulkona opettamiseen liittyvät pedagogiset opinnäytetyöt suomalaisissa yliopistoissa 
• Timo Lepistö & Mari Korpela: Luonnosta työhön 
• Essi Aarnio-Linnanvuori: Kansalaistutkijasta ympäristökansalaiseksi: Partiolaisten kokemuksia kansalaistieteestä rannalla 
• Jenni Perttu: Kuvataidekasvatuksen menetelmien kehittäminen lasten luontosuhteen vahvistamiseksi 

Teema: Näkökulmia kestävään ulkona opettamiseen (indoors)

• Maria Sulonen: Kriittinen biodiversiteettikasvatus osana kestävyysmurrosta  
• Niina Mykrä: Hankkeet ulkona oppimista edistämässä 
• Aleksi Paavilainen: Viihtymisestä välittämiseen: Ekofeministinen huolenpidon etiikka Luontopäiväkodissa 

15:30-17:00 Discussions

The ULOS-UT-OUT event continues after the Ihan Villinä research symposium on June 9–11.

-> Check out the full program for the ULOS-UT-OUT event!

Registration and participation fees:

Decisions on the acceptance of abstracts will be made in January 2026.

• Ihan Villinä research symposium, €130/1 day
  • Ticket type: research symposium -> Registration link
• Research symposium and entire ULOS-UT-OUT event, 3 days, €200
  • Ticket type: participation fee for 3 days, Early Bird -price -> Registration link
• Research symposium and entire ULOS-UT-OUT event for presenters €150
  • Ticket type: reduced participation fee for program organizers 3 days -> You will find the registration link in the acceptance letter.

More information about registering for the event

If enough high-quality scientific presentations are submitted to the symposium, we will promote a peer-reviewed conference publication specializing in the theme of outdoor teaching and learning.

The research symposium is organized in collaboration with the University of Tampere, the University of Helsinki, and ULOS-UT-OUT.

Abstracts:

Further information:

ULOS-UT-OUT event organizers: info@ulosutout.fi
Arja Kaasinen, University of Helsinki: arja.kaasinen@helsinki.fi
Merike Kesler, University of Helsinki: merike.kesler@helsinki.fi
Essi Aarnio-Linnanvuori, University of Tampere: essi.aarnio-linnanvuori@tuni.fi