Pleasant and versatile Hatanpää Mansion Park and Arboretum retain the Green Flag Award
Hatanpää Mansion Park and Arboretum received the Green Flag Award once again. On 17 August 2023, 19 green spaces that won the Green Flag Award symbol were announced at the Lepaa exhibition. Some were already familiar award winners, but there were also many new green spaces among those awarded. The Green Flag Awards have been awarded to high-quality green spaces in Finland for several years.
Park developed in a manner conserving landscape values and cultural heritage
Hatanpää Mansion Park and Arboretum, which had already won the award numerous times, maintained the symbol by convincing the judges of their area’s versatility and welcoming atmosphere. According to judges, there’s always something new to find in the park, and the area’s meadows, fallen trees and old multi-species trees form a peaceful and harmonious whole. The park is clean, well-managed, maintained in a high-quality manner, and the area’s wide and even paths ensure accessibility. The judges also appreciated that the park has been developed to be more natural in terms of its landscape value and cultural heritage. The park offers visitors peace, magnificent landscape views, recreation and communal activities close to the centre of Tampere.
The park is managed by the City of Tampere urban environment service area, and Tampereen Infra Oy is responsible for its maintenance.
"The award also inspires maintenance personnel to invest in planning and see their own work with new eyes," Jussi Suominen, Tampereen Infra Site Manager, sums up the thoughts of the Mansion Park and Arboretum maintenance staff on the award.
Seven first-time applicants - green spaces that renewed their applications retained the logo
Harju Campus Park in Ravijoki, Finby Sports Centre in Pargas, Jokilaakso Tourist Garden in Lapua, Oulu’s Hupisaari City Park, Riihimäki’s Perhos Park, Snellmaninpuisto Park in Kuopio and Mikkelipuisto Park in Mikkeli won the Green Flag Award for the first time. In addition to Hatanpää Manor Park, Lahti’s Pikku-Vesijärvi Park, Lepaa Campus Park, Mikkeli’s Naisvuori, Marketanpuisto Park and the Axxell Överby Campus in Espoo, Pargas Central Park, Kellonummi Cemetery in Espoo and all five of Kotka’s parks retained their awards from last year: Jokipuisto Park, Sapoka Water Park, Fuksinpuisto Park, Sibelius Park and Katariina Seaside Park.
More than 2,000 award-winning green spaces in 15 countries
The Green Flag Award scheme recognises and rewards well managed parks and green spaces and is administered by the English organisation Keep Britain Tidy, and in Finland by the Finnish Association of Landscape Industries.
The Green Flag Award has handed out awards to parks in Finland since 2016, when the first GFA logo was awarded to the Häme University of Applied Sciences' Lepaa campus park. High-quality GFA sites take the users of the space, the environment and the operating strategy into consideration comprehensively. The green spaces in Finland that have won the Green Flag Award are part of an international network of more than 2,000 green spaces in 15 countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Turkey, Belgium, Spain and the United States.
Judges assesses in writing and during site visits
The Green Flag Award scheme is the only scheme worldwide where a trained jury assesses the activities of s green space both in writing on the basis of the area’s management plan and during site visits. Each applicant receives written professional feedback each year, with an assessment of the green space’s activities using a criteria containing 27 areas. The criteria establishes common standards for high-quality green spaces, which can be used to develop and justify funding for them and attract more users to green spaces.
