Funded projects

The project investigates what sustainability transformation of society would mean in relation to employment possibilities and labor market policies. It aims to propose a new concept of ‘green labor market policy’ as a sustainable alternative to traditional productivity-oriented labor market policy. It seeks to define policy solutions to tackle the ‘environment VS job’ dilemma: to avoid situations where new jobs are created without considering their environmental consequences, and where carbon-intensive jobs are curbed without renewing the social security systems. The project’s results can be used to develop more universal, sustainability-oriented labor market policy measures, and more inclusive, climate-adjusted social security net that allows job seekers to pursue a more sustainable occupation.

Organisation
Tampere University

Aim
Doctoral thesis

The main objective of this project is to identify the presence and concentration of rubber tires derived chemicals in Helsinki waterways (fresh water, Vantaa River; sea water, Baltic Sea). The project will characterize the physiological and behavioral effects of the detected chemicals on Finnish aquatic invertebrates.

Organisation
Finnish Environment Insitute

Aim
Postdoc

The aim of Operation Arctic is to disseminate and popularise research on climate repair and tipping points in Earth systems. The project conducts a comprehensive risk analysis of global warming and the state of natural systems from a perspective relevant to the younger generation. The project aims to bring together researchers, policy makers, young people, businesses, environmentalists and other organisations through networking, science communication and collaborative events. Operation Arctic will open up a necessary debate on the repair of Arctic climate systems as part of a comprehensive solution to climate change. In 2023, Operation Arctic will publish a written summon on the need for climate repair and organise an international climate repair conference in Helsinki.

Organisation
Association

Aim
Implementation of scientific environmental information

We will develop cost-effective and implementable methods for reintroduction of threatened wood-inhabiting fungi. Our primary objective is to directly contribute to the conservation of seven species of threatened wood-decay fungi through successful reintroduction to suitable forests within their previous range. Throughout the project we will cooperate with forestry companies and stakeholders involved in nature conservation.

Organisation
Natural Resources Institute Finland

Aim
Implementation of scientific environmental information

The proposed project aims to understand, firstly, how wicked problems and system changes can be analyzed, and secondly, how crises and exogenous shocks affect sustainability transitions. The research will make a theoretical contribution and investigate empirically the energy sector. The project includes three peer-reviewed international articles, and other papers and policy briefs aiming at a high societal impact.

Organisation
Tampere University

Aim
Postdoc

The aim of the research is to develop industrially applicable, techically viable, healthy, fully re-usable, circular economy based and extremely low carbon construction material consisting of Finnish unburnt clay and organic fibres.

The work is built on existing material called light clay/earth, which has been utilised in small scale construction for past 100 years. Research focuses on improving the material’s properties including consistency, drying properties and insulation capacity. It employs a systemic viewpoint – the entire chain from origins and availability of raw materials to potential end user is included in the research.

Organisation
Aalto University

Aim
Doctoral thesis

Enabling active food citizenship for city dwellers as a collaboration of different sectors. Utilizing the urban environment in food production under the conditions of natural systems and taking care of the soil. Developing the operating environment of an urban community farm into a center that supports and enables an active food community.

Organisation
Association

Aim
Implementation of scientific environmental information

The goal of this project is to create an artificial method of producing lake mussels of genus Anodonta for aquaculture and to test the mussels as biofilterers of nutrient rich solid materials and harmful pathogens from the water, focusing on pathogens that cause disastrous infections in fish farms. This study will answer to the global need of enhancing environmentally sustainable food production. As a result, the study will provide means of producing effective biofilterers as a sideflow product in aquaculture and also knowledge on utilizing the mussels’ natural constant biofiltering in enhancing the productivity of the fish farms by reducing infections.

Organisation
University of Jyväskylä

Aim
Doctoral thesis

In this project, I examine how life on the seafloor recovers after disturbances, such as bottom trawling, and which factors affect the recovery potential of biological communities. The project produces a modeling tool that can be used to assess environmental impacts in the marine environment by predicting the probability of recovery of the seafloor community in a specific area. The combination of probability calculus and machine learning methods produces new information on the recovery potential of marine ecosystems using historical time-series data and field observations from underwater imaging systems.

Organisation
Foreign university

Aim
Postdoc

The project will help build a model of collaborative water monitoring for mining in Sodankylä based on local cooperation between mining companies and their stakeholders. Actors will work together in different stages of the monitoring process with the assistance of an external facilitator. The project implements research results based on a multi-year operational study carried out in Sodankylä on how the benefits of local mining could be increased and the resulting disadvantages minimized. The planning and implementation of the process will be carried out by a neutral party, Akordi, who will provide local actors with tools and know-how on how to integrate different views and form a shared knowledge base.

Organisation
Company

Aim
Implementation of scientific environmental information

The main objective of the project is to examine the effects of variable environmental factors in the reproductive behaviour and success, demographics, and population dynamics of kestrels, focusing on the impacts of agricultural intensification and climate change. The project aims to identify how the course of change in agricultural environments and weather conditions has affected kestrel populations living in agricultural fields during the last four decades.

Organisation
University of Eastern Finland

Aim
Doctoral thesis

The goal of this project is to create theoretical conditions for new organizations in and after the era of radical ecological change caused by the ongoing sixth mass extinction. The basic questions are: What kind of organizations are needed to survive mass extinction? What kind of organizations will emerge from the debris of human-made ecological disaster? I will elaborate and analyse the question through two case studies and conceptual research. The emphasis is on the concrete consequences of the destruction of life-supporting systems for entrepreneuring. The project anticipates and verbalizes a societal shift in focus from high-growth entrepreneurship to organizing the protection of life and survival.

Organisation
Aalto University

Aim
Postdoc

The purpose of this research project is to examine those utopias that are produced and motivated by the on-going ecological crisis. The project approaches global ecological crisis from the point of view of utopian studies and especially utopian social theory. This research project is an philosophical and conceptual analysis on the different forms of utopia that are meant as solutions to the ecological crisis. This project examines the conceptual presuppositions that those utopias that aim to solve the ecological crisis are built upon. The project also examines the ways in which different utopias derived from different social theories either hinder or advanced the much needed ecological structural transformation.

Organisation
University of Lapland

Aim
Postdoc

PLANET develops playful Interactive Visual Analytics (IVA) to teach data literacy in the context of climate change and biodiversity to encourage action. PLANET provides a data- based worldview to strengthen decision-making and action, with the following objectives:
-Integrate theories and design methodologies of IVA in climate change and biodiversity
-Analyse empirical results of experiments by designing, developing, and evaluating i) the PLANETDataBook (an instructional material) ii) playful IVA strategies in web-based and VR applications based on behavioural and psychological outcomes
-Defining a framework to design playful IVA strategies that engages individuals with behavioural and attitudinal changes.

Organisation
Tampere University

Aim
Postdoc

Cool microclimates play an important role in the protection of biodiversity against climate change, as they enable species adapted to cold conditions to survive in their current habitats and to better disperse to new suitable areas. The research produces information about the occurrence of these habitats in Finland, as well as how changes in land use affect the conditions and distribution of microclimates. The goal of the research is to produce information and new regional data on microclimate variation, which supports nature conservation authorities to develop more effective protection, management and land use plans as well as more ecologically sustainable ways of using natural resources and reducing the harmful effects of climate change on biodiversity.

Organisation
University of Helsinki

Aim
Doctoral thesis

Efficient medications are a necessity for humans, but also a cause of increasing environmental burden. The risks can be decreased at different points during the lifespan of drugs, from sustainable production and logistics to legislation and structures that steer towards rational use of drugs. However, healthcare professionals and legislators need more information of these processes to be able to make informed decisions. The aim of the book is to increase the understanding and change the attitudes of professionals and legislators towards environmental aspects of medicines and medications, and consequently create a good basis for developing more sustainable practices in the future.

Organisation
University of Helsinki

Aim
Implementation of scientific environmental information

The goal of this project is to study the conflicts that arise between gardeners concerning the non-human inhabitants (rodents, birds, insects, stray animals) of urban allotment gardens, and to understand how these conflicts are resolved. As the project examines urban allotment gardens in Finland and Poland, it will also allow for comparisons between the two different cultural and spatial contexts. The data gathered in this project consists of interviews with the gardeners and ecological observations (via recorded camera footage) of the species inhabiting the gardens. It offers an insight into urban biodiversity and its preservation, and the project results will help provide new knowledge to combat the current collapse in biodiversity.

Organisation
University of Helsinki

Aim
Postdoc

Our goal is to prevent the nutrients and harmful microbes load from horse farms to the waterways. We want to implement the research information into practical measures on horse farms to reduce their water pollution. Virtual simulation models are used to help concretize the research data. The models consider not only environmental effects but also economic and social aspects. The goal is reached with specific advice and seminars and workshops. Cooperation between stables, authorities and counseling also increases. The aim is to promote the dissemination of good practices throughout the country to reduce the environmental impact of horse farming.

Organisation
HAMK

Aim
Tutkimustiedon jalkauttaminen

This research project investigates the Convention on Biological Diversity’s (CBD) negotiation processes. The CBD is the leading governing body on global biodiversity policy. For five years, negotiations have been ongoing to agree a new set of biodiversity targets. These targets will set the tone on how countries seek to curb biodiversity loss by 2030. While the new targets will be a source of hope of ending biodiversity loss, previous efforts have not been successful. The negotiations are led by experts and civil servants in a highly technical manner. This can be one source of the lack of success: political decisions are framed as technical ones, threatening democracy, as only a small number of people are able to follow the negotiations. Thus, this research seeks fairer and more transparent ways towards sustainability transformation.

Organisation
Finnish Environment Insitute

Aim
Doctoral thesis

The goal of my doctoral thesis is to study the history of thermal comfort in Finnish homes over the last two hundred years, adding to our understanding of our historically changing expectations of the role of a building as a provider of thermal comfort. My research will bring forth various historical strategies in obtaining thermal comfort levels and will reflect on the historical trajectory of indoor temperature recommendations. The dissertation includes case studies of homes of different historical periods.

Organisation
Aalto University

Aim
Doctoral thesis

Pathogen related epidemics and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) that cause human and animal morbidity and mortality in enormous magnitude could be hindered with an early- warning system. Attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic, wastewater-based epidemiology has quickly developed as a promising scientific discipline and a cost- effective population level tool for surveillance of infectious diseases and AMR. This research will provide global life and resource saving approach for detection, quantification and characterization of zoonoses and AMR genes in wastewater in Finland. Fresh approaches are utilized in analyzing temporal and spatial trends and an easy-to-use wastewater-focused surveillance platform of several clinically relevant zoonotic pathogens and AMR genes are introduced.

Organisation
Finnish institute for health and welfare

Aim
Doctoral thesis

Contradictions of knowledge, value, and action and charges of hypocrisy are booming before the dawn of the sustainability transformation. The dissertation develops a philosophical theory that helps to understand hypocrisy and contradictions in the era of the environmental crises. The research project combines ideas developed in ethics and political philosophy to results of social sciences and psychology. The developed theory links hypocrisy to contradictions caused by the societal structures and to psychological coping mechanisms that are used to get by with the contradictions in daily life. The goal of the theory is to help popular movements rallying for the transformation to deal with hypocrisy, psychological tendencies, and structural contradictions in ways that strengthen the movements.

Organisation
University of Helsinki

Aim
Doctoral thesis

The aim of the art-oriented, multidisciplinary Apart we shall perish project is to highlight the diversity of soilmicrobes and elucidate their potential in soil restoration. The goal is to initiate multidisciplinary research related to soil through community-based, inclusive activities and to create moments for different actors to meet.

The drought and heat brought by climate change, as well as soil pollution and microbial poverty, calls for ways, e.g. for the restoration of urban forests or contaminated land areas. The project deals with the transfer of microbes and its potential to support planting of trees. A forest in a bowl, a communal ritual, the project carries the value of environmental diversity.

Organisation
Work group

Aim
Implementation of scientific environmental information

Once Upon a Time in a Forest (working title) is a film about young people who are fighting for one of the last coniferous forest areas in Europe. It´s a morality play, a love story of a younger generation whose main location and object of love is the Finnish forest.

The young people come face to face with the Finnish forest industry and a deeply rooted national ideology of the forest as a foundation for the nation´s economic well-being. As a protest against the deforesting, a new forest movement called “Forest Rebellion” was born in Finland in 2021. This documentary follows the charismatic young environmentalists as they take part in this rebellion, a new dynamic movement.

Organisation
Company

Aim
Implementation of scientific environmental information

The aim of this doctoral thesis is to find out how Finnish pioneer farmers are making the transition towards regenerative agriculture and how they use adaptive management in their decision-making, especially how they use tacit knowledge and intuition. An understanding of farmers’ intuition as a part of the decision-making process is needed, because farmers use intuition in their decision-making. This study gives socially significant information of farmers decision-making and thus enables supporting farmers in their transition towards regenerative agriculture in an individual and collective levels. By that, it is possible to strengthen farmers, societies and socio-ecological resilience in a holistic way, which is needed in sustainability transformation to protect natural systems.

Organisation
University of Eastern Finland

Aim
Doctoral thesis

Bats are a species-rich group that contributes to biodiversity in many ways. In addition to climate change, bats are now threatened by the fungal disease white-nose syndrome, which infects the skin of hibernating individuals. The infection has a high mortality rate in North America, yet European bats survive exposure exceptionally well. This project aims to determine whether the skin microbiome protects European bats from infection during hibernation. It also aims to discover what genes are responsible for protecting the host against fungal infection. This information is necessary for the development of white-nose syndrome treatment and the protection of endangered bat species as climate change expands the range of the disease.

Organisation
University of Helsinki

Aim
Doctoral thesis

The lichen-rich fells and woods of the Finnish north are well-known beyond its borders; yet lichens are among the most poorly-known and threatened groups in Finland, with their situation worsening. Little is known about their biodiversity, especially in extreme habitats like the subarctic, and almost nothing is known about how climate change will affect them. This study pays special attention to crustose microlichens and will enable more effective conservation. I will look beyond species presence to understand which aspects shape communities. What ecological factors are most important and what role plays snow cover in particular? In combination with extensive ecological data, I will model species distributions now and under warming scenarios to predict their responses to climate change.

Organisation
University of Helsinki

Aim
Doctoral thesis

The Photo-e-Microbes project will generate green electricity from photosynthetic bacteria to be part of the solution to mitigating climate change and catastrophic ecological collapse. Photosynthetic bacteria have the remarkable ability to generate electricity from sunlight and water as a by-product of photosynthesis. Photosynthetic bacteria may be doing this to communicate with each other, and we can harness this behaviour in biotechnologies called biophotovoltaic devices (BPVs) to generate green electricity.
Electricity outputs from BPVs have been theoretically predicted to be on par with solar panels, but are presently 10-fold lower. The Photo-e-Microbes project will increase the electricity outputs from BPVs by removing electron sinks inside the photosynthetic bacteria and optimising sustainable electrode materials and architectures.

Organisation
University of Turku

Aim
Postdoc