A Toast to Life Quite early on I have considered that the backyard of the University of Lapland should be its front yard. This point of view is simply conducted from the awe that his possibly unacknowledged part of the main campus has awakened in me. The park-or-forest-like space locates between the backside of the…
Read moreAutumn greetings with hints from the past
Dear readers, Autumn 2020 has started with a level of uncertainty as the COVID-19 pandemic has set afore us unforeseen challenges. Yet, research must go on and it is important to keep on inspiring each others in these difficult times. As our first blog post for this Autumn, we would like to link two texts…
Read moreTourism trends and situated polyphonic knowledges in precarious times
Realities and contrasts Three weeks ago, I walked the snowless streets of Helsinki in the dark, beautiful early morning. I admired two swans that slowly entered the shore of Töölönlahti. I took off my gloves as the weather felt so warm, until a chilly breeze reminded me that it is still January, after all….
Read moreWalking with rocks – and thinking with them
In September, we joined a geological walk in the Pyhä-Luosto National Park, situated in Finnish Lapland. The walk was organized by the local Naava visitor center, and guided by a geologist Peter Johansson. The day started with a lecture, during which we learned about the geological history of the 35-km-long range of hills and fells…
Read moreField course on tourism destination development
In September 2019, we had a pleasure to arrange a field course with tourism master students from the University of Lapland, with an emphasis on tourism destination development. Our intention was to connect our project Envisioning proximity tourism with new materialism with the course content, and to mentor future tourism professionals to create new, more…
Read moreFamilies: let’s learn with nature in Finnish Lapland
Hello! My Name is Jordana Milne and I am a graduate student from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. I am here working with Outi Rantala and the rest of the ILA group for two months on a project focusing on nature-based proximity tourism and family vacations. I am very excited to be in…
Read moreThe project launches!
The project launches! As the autumn makes its way to Finnish Lapland and the chilly breeze of the wind greets me from an open window, I’m feeling very excited to write the very first blog post of our project Envisioning Proximity Tourism with New Materialism, which has now officially begun! All the way until August…
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