Escape from the city’s noise

Housing, Kylä magazine / 4.11.2022

Original text: Anni Pajari | Pictures: Tiina Salminen

When Mari Lähteenmäki, who works as a Communications Manager at Soihtu, moved to Jyväskylä to study, she wanted to find a safe haven in the nearby forest of her new hometown. Laajavuori would have been a natural choice for a resident of Kortepohja Student Village, but its slopes seemed too steep for Mari’s Western Finnish state of mind.  

Instead, the outdoor recreation area of ​​Haukanniemi became dear to Mari, and she would always go there for walks by herself when she felt the need to get out of the city. After her studies, Mari moved to another part of the city and started a family, and now she visits Haukanniemi with the whole family. 

“Children enjoy playing freely in the forest, so I believe that the place will become meaningful for them as well.” 

Mari has also introduced the place to some international guests when organizing a conference for participants arriving from all over the world. The trip to Haukanniemi, which was part of the program, made the organizers nervous in advance, because the summer had been cold and rainy until then. However, the evening of the trip happened to be the only warm and rainless evening of the summer, which charmed the guests. 

“They were amazed how almost in the center of the city there is a place like this where you cannot hear the traffic. Grilling sausages was also a great experience for them.”