1 million euros collected for #OURSEA – take part in the livestream of the rarely seen “Haru, Island of the Solitary” documentary!

The #OURSEA campaign, launched in January 2020, has reached its goal of raising 1 million euros to save the Baltic Sea and its unique cultural heritage. The work is, however, not over yet, as the campaign continues until the end of July 2021.

“We’re incredibly happy and touched by the number of organizations and private persons that have taken Baltic Sea and its well-being to their hearts. Never before has such a big international push been done in the Baltic region. Reaching the goal of one million euros makes it possible to make great deeds for the Baltic Sea,” comments Annamari Arrakoski-Engardt, CEO of John Nurminen Foundation.

A rare documentary of Tove Jansson’s summers on the Baltic Sea 

Reaching the goal of one million euros shows that the Baltic Sea is important for a large number of people. We want to thank everyone who has taken part in the campaign by organizing a livestream of the rarely seen  “Haru, Island of the Solitary” documentary! The documentary, filmed by Tove Jansson’s life partner Tuulikki Pietilä, is a unique glimpse into Jansson and Pietilä’s summers on the small island of Klovharu on the Baltic Sea.

The livestream is organized on Wednesday, April 14 at 18 EEST. Register on Eventbrite to get the link to the livestream! 

“For Tove, the Baltic Sea meant home, safety, adventure and freedom”

Eutrophication is caused by nitrogen and phosphorus discharges, which feed algae and water plant growth in the sea. The effects of climate change further accelerate the eutrophication of the Baltic Sea. According to forecasts, increasing rainfall and winters with only light snow will increase nutrient runoff from land to the Baltic Sea. As the climate heats up, seawater, too, will become warmer, boosting algae growth in the sea.

Moomin Characters and John Nurminen Foundation launched the #OURSEA campaign in January 2020 to mark the 75th anniversary of the Moomins and to help raise funds to save the Baltic Sea and its vibrant culture.

“For Tove, the Baltic Sea meant home, safety, adventure and freedom, and it inspired her to write the Moomin stories. She loved the sea. The success of the #OURSEA campaign shows that this is shared by many: the Baltic Sea is important and dear to a huge amount of people, who also want to do their part in ensuring the wellbeing of the sea. This is a beautiful message, of which Tove would be incredibly happy,” Moomin Characters’ Creative Director and niece of Tove Jansson, Sophia Jansson, comments.

#OURSEA donations promoting the wellbeing of the Baltic Sea – you still have time to donate!

“We will do everything we can to make the campaign serve the Baltic Sea and its heritage in the best way possible. Already now we have started new initiatives and grown our activities with the donations. A new, significant initiative to protect the Baltic Sea is also in the planning”, tells Annamari Arrakoski-Engardt, CEO of John Nurminen Foundation.

John Nurminen Foundation’s cultural and protection initiatives have already been supported with #OURSEA donations. The foundation’s Fertilizer Shipping project seeks to prevent the nutrient discharges linked to marine transportation. The Coastal Reed project aims to recycle the nutrients retained to common reed from sea to land. At the same time the foundation promotes the use of renewable reed mass as a raw material that can replace peat and treasures cultural environments. The Manure Recycling project solves one of the biggest causes for the eutrophication of the Baltic Sea: the regional accumulation of manure from livestock.

On the side of the protection work, the John Nurminen Foundation shares information and stories about the fascinating history and culture of the Baltic Sea. In 2020, the foundation implemented the “A sea of memories” exhibition to study the mental images people have of the sea, and to prompt the Finns to think about their relationship with the Baltic Sea. The foundation collected more than 200 memories from Finns, and built a free installation based on the memories.

Thank you to all partners

“We’re thankful and touched by all the people who have in one way or another influenced the fact that we have reached our goal of one million euros already before the end of the campaign. This has been enabled by hundreds of people in tens of organizations that have taken part in the building of the campaign. Without them, we could not have raised this amount of money for the Baltic Sea. A humble thank you to all of you,” Roleff Kråkström, CEO of Moomin Characters comments.