Authors: Julius & Taimi, Alppilan lukio

Water Treatment Plant

After the architecture tour, we took a train to the Damhusåen HOFOR A/S water treatment plant. We were a little worried that it would smell really bad there, but when we arrived, the smell was not nearly as unpleasant as we had expected. First, we were given safety vests, after which the employees divided us into two groups.

Together with our group, we went on a guided tour where we were shown the different stages of water treatment. After the tour, we learned the names of the stages: mechanical, chemical, and biological treatment. We also got to purify water ourselves, in much the same way as we would in a chemistry class.

Forest Excursion

The Baltic Sea group was divided into two halves. One half stayed at the school to make mugs, while our group headed to the Parforce Hunting Landscape forest, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

We traveled there by bus and were surprised to see televisions on the bus showing live news broadcasts. It felt strange, especially since the town where we were staying was not very large. At first, the weather in the forest was good, but then it started raining heavily. The paths were icy, and the rain made them even more slippery.

The forest trails were paved with stones, which was interesting because that is not something you usually see, at least not in Finnish forests. There were also many steep inclines and declines along our route, which made the hike more challenging. In the end, we reached about halfway through the forest before deciding to turn back because of the weather.

During the excursion, we got to know students from the Finnish-Russian School, Heklu, and Martinlaakso Upper Secondary School very well.

At School

When the Baltic Sea group was split in two and one group went on the forest excursion, the other group stayed at school. At school, we made mugs decorated with our own names and images related to the Baltic Sea and the Nordic countries.

We began by choosing the font and color for our names. Then, using a special device, our printed names and Baltic Sea images were heat-transferred onto white mugs. The result was a fun, handmade souvenir from the trip.

At school, we also got to know each other better, especially during lunch breaks while eating sandwiches. UNESCO Youth Ambassadors also visited the school to talk about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Related to these goals, we participated in various games and completed some quick activities.

Warm greetings from Finland’s most civilized travelers!

Julius & Taimi, Alppila