Eight Rotary clubs from District 1420 in Southern Finland are strengthening their cooperation with the Vantaanjoki and Helsinki Region Water Protection Association. A joint meeting to discuss funding for delaying surface runoff into the river was held in April in Klaukkala, Nurmijärvi.
By slowing down water runoff, it is possible to reduce flooding in the lower reaches of rivers after heavy rains and to decrease the amount of soil and nutrients being washed into the river. This also promotes the reproduction of trout living in the rivers and facilitates farming along the riverbanks.
“Dry early summers have made farmers consider the benefits of water retention from an agricultural perspective as well,” says Paula Luodeslampi, a water protection expert at the Vantaanjoki and Helsinki Region Water Protection Association.
Retention is implemented with light, nature-based measures in naturally wet areas, mainly by damming and flooding water into side channels where fish do not spawn. Vegetation is cleared as little as possible to maintain shade around the watercourse.
Joint Efforts to Raise Matching Funds
Three water retention sites will already be implemented in the region this year with funding from the Water Protection Association, Lammi Savings Bank, and the EU’s rural development funds.
To realize future projects, Rotary clubs in the Vantaanjoki river basin are now collecting the local co-funding portion required for new rural development funding applications. The Nurmijärvi-Klaukkala Rotary Club has taken the lead in this collaboration among eight clubs in the basin: Hyvinkää, Järvenpää, Nurmijärvi, Nurmijärvi-Klaukkala, Tikkurila, Tuusula, Vantaa-Myyrmäki, and Riihimäki Rotary Clubs.
“Protecting the Baltic Sea is one of the key development goals for our district’s Rotary clubs, and this is a concrete way we Rotarians can promote the well-being of our local environment and residents, while also helping to protect the Baltic Sea,” says Riitta Vaasjoki, President of the Nurmijärvi-Klaukkala Rotary Club.
The project sparked great interest, and some clubs have already committed to contributing financially. Other participating clubs will return to the matter after discussing it internally. The Nurmijärvi-Klaukkala Rotary Club is coordinating the fundraising efforts.
A Rotary Project with International Roots
Rotary International and the United Nations have entered into a partnership agreement focusing on local waterway protection under the “Adopt a River” initiative. Hannele Kauranne, active in the Rotary Baltic Sea cooperation network, came up with the idea of focusing on the Vantaanjoki river basin together with local Rotary clubs. She also serves as the Baltic Sea and environmental coordinator at Finlandia Hall in Helsinki. The Nurmijärvi-Klaukkala Rotary Club embraced the idea and invited other clubs for a joint meeting with a water protection expert.
Learn more about Rotary’s partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP): https://www.rotary.org/en/rotary-unep-partnership
Hilkka Gehör
Nurmijärvi-Klaukkalan Rotary Club
An original article on the topic was published in Nurmijärven Uutiset:
https://www.nurmijarvenuutiset.fi/paikalliset/8470710
More information:
• Paula Luodeslampi, Water Expert, Vantaanjoki and Helsinki Region Water Protection Association, paula.luodeslampi(at)vantaanjoki.fi
• Riitta Vaasjoki, President, Nurmijärvi-Klaukkala Rotary Club, rvaasjoki(at)gmail.com
• Hannele Kauranne, Helsinki Finlandia Hall Rotary Club, hannele.kauranne(at)gmail.com
Photos:
• Group photo of participants – Photographer: Markku Pesonen
• Presentation: Paula Luodeslampi (left) explaining the project – Photographer: Hilkka Gehör
