Söderlångvik is located in the archipelago municipality of Kimitoön. When you arrive at the manor, the apple orchards, the garden and the sea open before your eyes. Söderlångvik Manor includes 7,000 hectares of forest, which is cared for according to the criteria for sustainable forestry. On Söderlångvik’s grounds, there are several excellent hiking trails for those who want to explore nature more closely.

Forestry and the nature reserve

Söderlångvik Manor’s forests are varied and versatile. Like the rest of the grounds, the forests are owned by the arts association Konstsamfundet. The grounds cover about 7,000 hectares. The forests are located mainly in Tolfsnäs, Hertsböle and around Söderlångvik Manor.

In 2022, the Konstsamfundet’s board decided on a forest strategy that will serve as a guiding document for the association’s forestry in the coming decades.

The association’s forestry strategy is based on the mission to manage the manor’s forestry as sustainably as possible, taking into account the diversity of the nature, carbon sequestration, tourism and community relations.

Approx. 400 hectares of Konstsamfundet’s forest. The nature reserve area includes Purunpää and Bergö, as well as Purunpää Norra since the beginning of 2023. In addition to the strictly protected forests, the grounds include approx. 330 hectares of coastal forest that are protected from construction. According to the strategic plan, over the next 10 years approx. 100 hectares will be added to the protected areas. The protection plans build on conclusions from a recent nature survey, which showed that these areas have the potential to develop over time into valuable ecosystems and habitats.

In addition to preservation, a wide range of other measures are also mentioned in the forest strategy of the art association Konstsamfundet: continuous cover forestry, FSC forest certification, the size and shape of final felling areas, the restoration of ditched peatlands, increasing the proportion of mixed forests, the planting of deciduous trees and flowering trees, the preservation of retention trees and solitary trees and the creation of new wetlands. Forestry must also be adapted to wildlife.
These measures are not all put into use at the same time, but together they form the toolkit that the manor will use in its forestry.

As part of the strategy, we maintain a dialogue with the local population. Continuity farming is the measure that affects the surrounding local community the most. The method is based on a natural rejuvenation of the forest. In practice, this means that clear cutting is not done; rather, the forest is always covered with trees. This benefits the landscape as well as the biodiversity and wildlife that live in the forest.

Söderlångvik is transitioning to continuity forestry in the areas that the local community and the manor’s tourism function actively use, that is, where the hiking trails go. In addition, continuity forestry will be used in the manor’s forests in places where the natural conditions and starting points are suitable for it. An estimated 1,000 hectares of forest will be managed with continuity forestry.

The forest strategy focuses on the next 20 years.