Sociological studies on the way of life tell rather little about the impact of forests on Finn’s everyday life. The change of life styles, urbanization and middle-class values, signify a detachment from immediate and practical relationship with nature. Those born in the countryside conserve their relationship with nature in their leisure activities, but the urban-born generation needs the mass-media, education, travel and other institutions in order to maintain and develop its relationship with nature.
The paper is based on a lecture given in the seminar ‘The forest as a Finnish cultural entity’, held in Helsinki in 1986. The PDF includes a summary in English.