You leave the terrain without a trace

An open fire always needs the landowner's permission. When the forest fire risk is high, permission is not enough either.

Fire sits behind permission

A campfire is not covered by everyman's rights. No open fire is made without the landowner's permission, and when the forest fire risk is evident, no fire is lit in or near forest even with permission.

So there are two conditions: the landowner's permission, and the fire risk situation. They are checked separately, because permission does not cancel the risk.

Only dead wood lying on the ground is collected for fuel. Anything else requires separate permission from the landowner.

Everyman's rights set the limits

Everyman's rights (jokamiehenoikeudet, the Nordic right of public access) allow movement on foot, on skis and by bicycle anywhere except in yards and areas taken into specific use, such as fields under cultivation and plantings. A temporary stay is allowed wherever movement is, for example camping far enough from dwellings.

The same set covers picking wild berries, mushrooms and unprotected plants. Angling and ice fishing are allowed, as is travelling on water and on ice.

The prohibitions are just as precise. Trees are not felled or damaged. Moss, lichen, soil and wood are not taken. Domestic peace is not disturbed, and no motor vehicle is driven off-road without the landowner's permission. Littering is forbidden, and fishing and hunting require their own permits.

Rubbish leaves with you

Nothing is left in nature. Rubbish is taken to a designated place and sorted according to the instructions given.

The easiest rubbish is the kind that never exists. Take only the food you know you will eat.

If a group does litter or cause damage to the environment, that is not where it ends. You go back to collect the rubbish and repair the damage at the end of the exercise or afterwards.

So leaving no rubbish is not the last stage of the work. It is a habit that travels along the whole trip.

Movement stays on existing tracks

Nature is not damaged, and existing tracks are used for movement.

Restrictions marked on the map or in the terrain are observed. An area may hold protected natural values or habitats, near which you move with particular care or which you do not enter at all. Some areas are groundwater areas important for water supply. The restriction is marked precisely so that it is visible in time.

Energy and natural resources are used sparingly. Environmentally responsible behaviour counts as a basic skill, not an optional extra.

Noise does not stay inside your own group

Unnecessary noise is avoided. It carries to the residents and the animals of the surrounding area. Neither of them signed up for the exercise.

Nesting birds and game animals are not disturbed. Avoiding disturbance and harm to others and to the environment is a basic condition of everyman's rights, not a recommendation.

Traces are always cleared. The person who notices best is the one who arrives next.

Sources

• Sotilaan käsikirja (Soldier's Handbook, 2024), p. 130. A public guide of the Finnish Defence Forces.