NFH joint the Finnish Nature Year for Health and Wellbeing🌿
In Finland, 2026 is dedicated to Luontovuosi: a Nature Year that invites people to reconnect with nature more often and more consciously — close to home, in everyday life, and together with others.
The initiative is led by Meijän polku, a Finnish network of professionals and organisations working at the intersection of nature, physical activity, wellbeing and health. Their starting point is simple and clear: regular contact with nature supports mental resilience, physical health and overall wellbeing.
Luontovuosi 2026 encourages everyone — residents, organisations, municipalities and regions — to see nature not just as a backdrop, but as an active living environment: a place to move, to slow down, to recover and to experience connection.
➡️ A key compass within the Nature Year is the 3–30–300 nature recommendation:
🔹3 times per week in a natural environment
🔹at least 30 minutes per visit
🔹 300 minutes per week in total.
This can be a park, a forest edge, water, or a green neighbourhood space — everything counts, as long as nature becomes a regular part of everyday life.
What makes Luontovuosi distinctive is its open and participatory character. Across Finland, cities are inviting other cities to join, regions are encouraging one another to take part, and organisations of all sizes are launching their own invitations. The Nature Year takes shape through what people and communities themselves organise, share and do — from shared walks and local activities to small everyday choices that bring nature closer.
Health does not emerge only through care and policy, but also through daily routines, living environments and access to nature. Luontovuosi 2026 shows how natural and powerful that connection can be. By sharing experiences, initiatives and simple practices, people, organisations and regions are showing positive examples to one another — demonstrating that health and wellbeing can grow from everyday contact with nature.
🌱Nature For Health strongly recognises this approach. We are honoured to have been invited to join Luontovuosi 2026 as a partner, and we have gladly accepted. We see great value in learning from each other and in contributing to a growing international movement that places nature at the heart of everyday health.
Luontovuosi 2026 shows how nature, health and everyday life can come together. It is an example that deserves to travel beyond Finland — including to the Netherlands and beyond. At Nature For Health, we are ready to be part of that shared journey.
How do you see this? Would you — your organisation, city or region — be willing to join in celebrating a Nature Year for health and wellbeing?