The Evo camping centre is not just boundaries drawn on a map, but data cables and electric wires, water mains and a sewage system installed in a forest.

The camping centre has been created on a 100-hectare area, with possibilities for many different activities, says Mr. Jere Rauhala, Superintendent at the Metsähallitus Natural Heritage Services. The brand new centre will be put to a real test immediately.

The sixth Finnjamboree, an international scout camp organised by the Guides and Scouts of Finland, is to bring 10,400 Finns and 600 international guests and their tents to the site. On the two visiting days, an additional 15,000–20,000 family members, media representatives and other interested people will visit the centre.

Rauhala and the Scouts’ Project Manager Ville Jokinen agree that neither organisation could have planned and built the camping centre by itself.

Area can be rented in parts
Rauhala says that Metsähallitus has already received enquiries about the camping centre. Reservations will be possible the coming autumn, after experiences from the Finnjamboree have been discussed, basic instructions on the use of the area have been written and the internet-based reservation system is up and running.

Though the camping centre is, frankly, mainly forest, there will be some permanent buildings. Rauhala says the buildings will have to be reserved separately. A camp organiser can therefore only reserve space.

However, it is not necessary to reserve the whole 100-hectare area. The area is divided into smaller lots, and four separate events can be arranged simultaneously.

“You could organise an orienteering competition or a dog show here,” Rauhala suggests.

3,000 volunteers build Kilke
At the time I visited the camping centre in June, it looked like any forest in Finland, albeit with electrical cabinets and water taps. During the Kilke jamboree, the view will be quite different.

”We will have 2,500–3000 tents, 20 village kitchens, six cafeterias, eight kiosks, a church, a hospital, 350 movable toilets and, of course, a few tent saunas,” says Jokinen. The camp will have its own radio station, newspaper and website.

The main bustle will come from thousands of people.

Finnish scouts and guides have used 2.5 years to plan the event. It took a year to construct the camping centre. 3,000 volunteers and only three paid personnel have worked to make the jamboree a reality.

Thanks to the huge input by the scouts in planning and building the camping centre, they will be given some priority in reservations. In 2012, two large camps of 3,000 people will be held in Evo, and so will be the next Finnjamboree in 2016.

For Metsähallitus, the investments channelled to the camp are part of their 150th anniversary celebrations held last year.

The revenue from auctioning two felling areas nearby, bought by Metsäliitto and Stora Enso, were donated for establishing the camping centre, for example.

”Camping centre fits in with our activity”
The idea of a permanent camping centre for the scouts came from Finland’s former Prime Minister, Mr. Matti Vanhanen. Opening the previous Finnjamboree in 2004, the Prime Minister wondered why the camp is constructed anew every six years.

Rauhala says that establishing the camping centre and managing it fits in naturally with Metsähallitus’s objectives. “The area is situated next to a state recreation area. This is a way to get youngsters into forests and nature and they are, after all, the people for whom we tend the state lands and forests.”

The camping centre is also conveniently located in Evo, in the Häme Region. It is easy to reach from different parts of South and Central Finland, it is close to large Scout Districts and next to a good hiking terrain. The centre is located in a commercial forest, where it is possible to construct the necessary infrastructure.

Krista Kimmo, Hämeenlinna



Finnjamboree Kilke