{"id":1864,"date":"2026-01-15T22:06:21","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T20:06:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogi.eoppimispalvelut.fi\/intraliving\/?p=1864"},"modified":"2026-01-15T22:17:35","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T20:17:35","slug":"university-of-lapland-led-research-project-develops-ecological-pilgrimage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogi.eoppimispalvelut.fi\/intraliving\/2026\/01\/15\/university-of-lapland-led-research-project-develops-ecological-pilgrimage\/","title":{"rendered":"University of Lapland-led research project develops ecological pilgrimage"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>University of Lapland-led research project develops ecological pilgrimage<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The research project aims to broaden understanding of the role of tourism and hiking during ecological crises and to support the EU Biodiversity Strategy toward an ecological transition.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Text: Jaana Ojuva<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Photos: Emily H\u00f6ckert &amp; Anna-Emilia Haapakoski <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Originally published: <a href=\"https:\/\/ulapland.fi\/en\/university-of-lapland-led-research-project-develops-ecological-pilgrimage\/\">University of Lapland-led research project develops ecological pilgrimage &#8211; University of Lapland<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>At the end of 2025, a research project led by the University of Lapland secured \u20ac1.1 million in funding from the EU\u2019s Biodiversity and Transformative Change programme to study and develop ecological pilgrimage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The new project continues the work of the University of Lapland\u2019s&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/blogi.eoppimispalvelut.fi\/intraliving\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ILA research group&nbsp;<\/a>(Intra-living in the Anthropocene). The interdisciplinary ILA group has a long-standing research interest in exploring the possibilities of tourism amid ongoing ecological crises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe ongoing biodiversity loss challenges to rethink and repair human-nature relations,\u201d says the project\u2019s principal investigator, Postdoctoral Researcher&nbsp;<strong>Emily H\u00f6ckert<\/strong>&nbsp;from the University of Lapland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But what is an ecological pilgrimage? H\u00f6ckert does not offer a ready-made answer. Instead, the project\u2019s name is intended to prompt pause and invite reflection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For many, the idea of pilgrimage may evoke images of historical colonial expeditions or religious ceremonies. An ecological pilgrimage, however, is not about conquering new places or belonging to a particular religious tradition, even though it may include spiritual dimensions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For H\u00f6ckert\u2019s research team, an ecological pilgrimage involves both movement and pause. Slowing down, calming the mind, and staying open to surprise can create conditions for meaningful encounters between species and deepen human\u2013nature relations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe hope that walking and wondering together can expand our understanding of how human well-being and the diversity of life are deeply intertwined,\u201d H\u00f6ckert adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Hiking trails reveal the state of biodiversity<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>During the project, Nordic researchers will walk along four existing hiking trails in Finland, Sweden, Norway and Iceland.&nbsp;<strong>Anna-Emilia Haapakoski<\/strong>, a doctoral researcher on the project, notes that tourists often hike on trails in protected areas, which can create a misleading impression of the forests\u2019 well-being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFor example, infrastructure projects related to the green transition, such as wind, hydrogen and hydropower, are continuously taking up more space in remote communities and ecosystems. At the same time, they are weakening biodiversity and decision-making based on local knowledge,\u201d Haapakoski says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The routes of the research project have therefore been selected to pass through ecosystems shaped by forestry, infrastructure development, agriculture, hunting, tourism and nature conservation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Finland, the selected route follows a section of the national UKK hiking trail, named after former president Urho Kaleva Kekkonen, that runs through the municipalities of Salla and Savukoski.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ulapland.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/01\/Ekologinen-pyhiinvaellus_UKK-1280x853.png\" alt=\"A sign in the UKK-park.\" class=\"wp-image-90907\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sections of the UKK hiking trail are overgrown and difficult to walk, while other parts are intersected by clear-cut logging areas and roads. Photo: Emily H\u00f6ckert.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The project partners will implement experimental walking interventions on the selected hiking routes. This means that a multidisciplinary group of researchers, local actors, and experts in outdoor recreation, such as representatives of the Outdoor Association of Finland, the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation and the Finnish Biodiversity Information Facility, will walk together, envision, and develop ecological pilgrimage as a practice that repairs human relationships with nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>H\u00f6ckert gives an example that illustrates the rationale for the walking interventions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cResearchers from the Natural Resources Institute of Finland highlight the importance of biodiversity by drawing attention to key species, such as the wild bilberry. This invites shared reflection on how humans and other species relate to bilberries, and how multispecies storytelling could help support the well-being of their habitats.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ulapland.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/01\/Ekologinen-pyhiinvaellus_mustikka-1280x853.png\" alt=\"Blueberries.\" class=\"wp-image-90910\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The blueberry is an important key species in a forest ecosystem, providing food and sustenance for many other species and helps to measure forest biodiversity. Photo: Anna-Emilia Haapakoski.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>At the conclusion of the project, its ideas and practical guidance will be shared with the public in a freely available handbook on ecological pilgrimage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ecological Pilgrimage: Engaging with biodiversity through walking interventions<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Total funding for the research consortium 1.1 million euros<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The University of Lapland share 236 990 euros, of which the share of 130 316 euros comes from the Academy of Finland and the 35 575 euros from the European Commission.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The project is conducted together with the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Finland), the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and Ume\u00e5 University (Sweden), the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research and National Pilgrimage Center (Norway), and the University of Iceland (Iceland).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Project duration 2.2.2026-30.1.2029.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>University of Lapland-led research project develops ecological pilgrimage The research project aims to broaden understanding of the role of tourism and hiking during ecological crises and to support the EU Biodiversity Strategy toward an ecological transition. At the end of 2025, a research project led by the University of Lapland secured \u20ac1.1 million in funding&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3637,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41764],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-yleinen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogi.eoppimispalvelut.fi\/intraliving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogi.eoppimispalvelut.fi\/intraliving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogi.eoppimispalvelut.fi\/intraliving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogi.eoppimispalvelut.fi\/intraliving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3637"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogi.eoppimispalvelut.fi\/intraliving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1864"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogi.eoppimispalvelut.fi\/intraliving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1864\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1871,"href":"https:\/\/blogi.eoppimispalvelut.fi\/intraliving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1864\/revisions\/1871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogi.eoppimispalvelut.fi\/intraliving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogi.eoppimispalvelut.fi\/intraliving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogi.eoppimispalvelut.fi\/intraliving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}