Stories

biodiversity, forest kids, game

Forest Kids — educating youth about biodiversity

Join us for a collaborative journey of game creation from concept to launch. In this article, you’ll learn about the creative process behind the online game Forest Kids, from its initial concept to its final launch. You’ll discover how the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Avoin, and the European Space Agency (ESA) worked together to…
agriculture, data management, sustainable development

Reliving the future

A retrospective approach to sustainable farming Reintegrating land and livestock (Relive) is a transnational project researching mixed farms, especially concerning greenhouse gas emissions and circularity. In the project, mixed farms refer to the integration of crops and livestock. Reintegration highlights how mixed farms were the norm in the past. Relive allows mixed farms to be explored…
biodiversity, forestry, sustainable development, virtual mapping

Building digital tools for sustainable forest management

Here´s a sneak peek into the development process of the forestry layer of Avoin Map, the virtual mapping tool for sustainable development. Sustainable forest management is not easy — but digital tools can make it a little easier. Avoin, a not-for-profit organization focusing on digital tools for sustainable development, has developed its virtual mapping tool Avoin…
agriculture, biodiversity, environment, future, sustainable development

The True Green Evolution — imagining the future of agriculture

Now it´s the time to ensure there is enough food for the generations to come. As a dancer, I like the word agriculture because it includes the word “culture” in it. This is not too far from the truth: the development of immaterial culture was indeed accelerated by the invention of agriculture around 12,000 years…
change making, game development, personal experience, sustainable development

The 5 carrots

Learnings after leaving my career to save the world Taking part in the ongoing Great Resignation — the trend where employees voluntarily resign in mass — I left my game industry job in Fall 2021 to pursue greater personal meaning: Societal change. In pursuing a more meaningful life, I forwarded plant-based initiatives, co-founded a non-profit…
agriculture, biodiversity, peatlands, sustainable development, virtual mapping

Reducing the environmental impact of peatland agriculture

“In the beginning, there were the swamp, the hoe — and Jussi”, says Finnish author Väinö Linna. But what comes next? This blog post and related article (in Finnish, behind a paywall) were produced as a part of the Makera-fund-supported OMAIHKA-project “Climate change mitigation in organic soils on cattle farms” coordinated by Natural Resources Institute Finland (LUKE).…
agriculture, Avoin Map, Baltic Sea, ocean protection, sustainable development, virtual mapping

Saving the Baltic Sea — one field at a time

Who knew mapping agricultural practices might help protect the porpoises? As a Finn, I have had the opportunity to grow by the Baltic Sea. This globally unique marine area is low in salinity, comparatively shallow and home to many rare, protected, and adorable mammals such as the harbor porpoise and the Baltic ringed seal. Unfortunately,…
environment, FAO, land cover, virtual mapping

Fighting deforestation with satellite data

Let the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the University of Helsinki, and Avoin show you how it´s done. They say Finland is “the land of thousand lakes”, even though in reality the number is closer to two hundred thousand. Nevertheless, as a Finn, I see the country first and foremost as a land…
environment, sustainable development, virtual mapping

In the open — making environmental data easy to use

Today´s technology makes it easy to send a message or even gifs and videos with our phones. We can navigate maps and purchase pretty much anything online. With these everyday activities made so easy, why is it still so difficult to easily attain environmental data? Avoin is a not-for-profit organization that strives to make work…