– get a sneak peek of the book on heroic Finnish sailors, published this spring

Trade fair release, February 6, 2015

The John Nurminen Foundation launches a new fundraising campaign today, on the first day of the Helsinki International Boat Show (6 to 15 February 2015). The campaign invites donors to save a piece of the Baltic Sea. On the Foundation’s web site is a map of the Baltic Sea, where you can select the piece you want cleaned. Anyone who is interested can participate in the campaign, even with just a small donation.

The main goal of the campaign is to recruit more private individuals as donors to the Foundation’s Clean Baltic Sea projects, which are financed with donations. Companies are also invited to join. The creative concept of the campaign has been designed by the Dynamo & Son advertising agency. In the early phases of the campaign, its figureheads will include Baba Lybeck, Anna Puu, Kalle Bask, a former competitive sailor, and Jukka Ketonen, District Chief Pilot for the Finnpilot Pilotage Helsinki pilotage zone. During the spring and summer, the implementation of the concept will be taken further in various media and events.

The John Nurminen Foundation, which has worked to save the Baltic Sea from 2004 onwards, has solid evidence of the impact of its work. The Foundation played a significant role in both the improvement of wastewater treatment efficiency in St. Petersburg, and in the reduction of phosphorus discharges from the Phosphorit fertilizer factory. As a joint result of these efforts, the annual phosphorus load to the Gulf of Finland has been reduced by approximately 60%. Last summer, the results of the work were evident in the Eastern Gulf of Finland, which remained clear and swimmable even during a heatwave that lasted several weeks.  The Foundation has completed a total of 15 wastewater treatment plant projects in the catchment area of the Baltic Sea, and last year began the preparations for several new projects.

The Foundation’s Clean Baltic Sea projects are built on the best available research, and support the objectives of Finland, the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, and EU marine protection. By the year 2025, the Foundation intends to implement the cost-effective measures that will improve the status of the Baltic Sea. To make this possible, the Foundation aims to raise €20 million by 2025.  The projects will be implemented in cooperation with stakeholders from the public and private sectors, and they are funded with donations and public financing. Annamari Arrakoski-Engardt, Secretary General of the Foundation, says: ’The Foundation operates in the entire area of the Baltic Sea, working to reduce eutrophication and using the full net profits of the campaign ín the Clean Baltic Sea projects. We will continue to work on the projects that improve the efficiency of municipal and industrial wastewater treatment, but we are also in the process of drawing up prestudies for new kinds of projects that can stop the eutrophication of the sea. We have plans and projects ready for the next ten years, and we do not intend to stop before the Baltic Sea is clean.’

The flagship project BEST (Better Efficiency for Sewage Treatment) is being prepared under the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, and its main goal is to achieve concrete reductions in point load discharges of nutrients and other harmful substances to the Baltic Sea. Also under preparation is the NutriTrade project, which aims to build an initially voluntary nutrient trade system for the Baltic Sea area. At the same time, the options for a more binding way to implement nutrient trade are being investigated. The objective of the project is the efficient reduction of nutrient discharges: with the discharge reductions implemented through the project, participants can reclaim phosphorus neutrality and, for example, make a city ‘phosphorus-free’. Moreover, the Foundation is in the process of studying a project on local fishing in the Archipelago Sea.

At the Foundation’s boat show stand 4b43 you can also refresh your book shelf and get to know the Foundation’s sea-themed non-fiction publications. Last year, the Foundation published three books: Eero Lehtinen’s biography ‘Pakko purjehtia’ (the need to sail); ‘La Recherche’, which depicts the King of France’s expedition to Lapland; and ‘Pohjolan Atlantis – Uskomattomia ideoita Itämerellä’ (the Northern Atlantis – incredible ideas on the Baltic Sea) by Mikko Huhtamies, Docent in Nordic History.  At the Boat Show, circumnavigator Eero Lehtinen’s new book, ‘Suomalaiset sankaripurjehtijat – Kahvelipurjeista skiffeihin’ (Heroic Finnish sailors – from gaff sails to skiffs) to be published in April 2015 is available for pre-sales. This book brings together the heroic deeds and accomplishments of Finnish sailing legends, at the same time shedding light on the early days and history of competitive sailing from the late 19th century onwards. You can hear Eero Lehtinen speak on the same topic on the Purjehdussatama stage in Hall 7 on Thursday 12 February at 5:00 pm and on Saturday 14 February at 4:00 pm.

John Nurminen Foundation presentations on the Venemestari stage in hall 3 (2:00 pm to 2:30 pm on the dates listed below):

Saturday 7 February: the Northern Atlantis – incredible ideas on the Baltic Sea Annamari Arrakoski-Engardt, Secretary General of the John Nurminen Foundation, interviews Mikko Huhtamies, Docent in Nordic History.
Sunday 8 February and 15 February: Team BlueSeaRedEyes revisits its Atlantic crossing Team BlueSeaRedEyes is a team of friends comprising nine Finns and one Swede, who, in addition to sailing, are united by their concern for the status of the Baltic Sea, and their fearless love of adventure.
Thursday 12 February and Friday 13 February: The ENSI navigation service brings improved safety to the Gulf of Finland Mikko Klang, Project Manager, John Nurminen Foundation
Saturday 14 February: Nature of the Baltic Sea – Baba Lybeck interviews environmental journalist Kimmo Ohtonen.

Visits from school groups are welcome to the Foundation’s stand on Tuesday and Wednesday, 10 to 11 February 2015.

 Further information

Tuula Putkinen
Communications Manager
John Nurminen Foundation
Tel. +358 400 907 809, firstname.lastname@jnfoundation.fi

The John Nurminen Foundation was established in 1992 on Juha Nurminen’s initiative to safeguard the cultural heritage of Finnish seafaring and maritime history. The purpose of the Foundation is to present and introduce the remarkable cultural heritage of the Baltic Sea to experts and the general public alike. The Foundation publishes high-quality books on seafaring, marine arts, expeditions and the history of cartography, aimed at the public at large. The target of the John Nurminen Foundation Clean Baltic Sea projects, established in 2004, is to bring about visible improvement in the status of the Baltic Sea through the reduction of nutrient loads entering the sea.  The projects improve the efficiency of nutrient removal at the largest sources of nutrients in the entire catchment area of the Baltic Sea.  The Clean Baltic Sea projects are funded with private donations and public funding. www.cleanbalticsea.fi