Eastern Finland, North Savo Region
Municipality of Kaavi (www.kaavi.fi)
Area: 1 sq. km. Established in 1989.
The area is managed by Metsähallitus.
Telkkämäki Nature Reserve is a unique slash-and-burn heritage farm in the Nordic countries. At this small nature reserve visitors can go back in time and see how people lived and farmed in the past. Slash-and-burn agriculture has been practised in North Savo Region from the 15th Century. Visitors can learn about slash-and-burn either in the farm yard or on either of the area's two short nature trails.
The pastures around the Telkkämäki farm yard are bordered by the same kind of green leafed forest that was there during the change of the 19th and 20th Century. The landscape was formed as a result of slash-and-burn agriculture. Slash-and-burn has been a common way of clearing forest for farming. The last time this was used at Telkkämäki for traditional farming was in the 1930s. Today the land in the nature reserve is still burnt annually.
Come see different types of demonstration shows about the yearly cycle of life on a farm!
This is the webpage www.nationalparks.fi/telkkamaki
