For us, one way of actively contributing to the sustainable development of the living environment is to organise activities with a social angle or that are designed to be kind to nature. We favour projects that have a positive influence on the world around us and that support development, education and broader horizons. “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi
Below are some examples of things we’ve championed.
The environment
We know the true value of a timber house, and we do everything we can to pass that knowledge on to others.
In terms of both ecology and the cost of construction, timber-frame buildings guarantee a durable, environmentally friendly, high-quality home for generations to come.
Timber’s a strong, energy-efficient material that creates a warm, healthy, safe and cost-effective living environment. Use of timber as a building material ensures a low carbon footprint – in fact, timber structures save CO2 rather than generating it.
The production of timber-frame buildings hasn’t led and won’t lead to the disappearance of our forests. Quite the reverse: FSC- and PEFC-certified suppliers guarantee the economical and sustainable management of forests, thanks to which more trees are planted in Estonia than are felled.
The big advantage of timber structures is that they’re produced under controlled conditions indoors, protecting the building from external conditions and ensuring that a close eye is kept on the production process all along the chain. This reduces the risk of moisture damage and enhances the quality of the project.
Timber-frame buildings are just as durable as the old log houses that have proven their worth, many of which here in Northern Europe are over 100 years old. Moreover, if you compare a timber-frame building produced in a factory with contemporary construction methods, the quality and simplicity of the structure are significantly greater and the environmental impact they have is smaller.
Estonian timber house producers have long since shown that the story of the three little pigs needs rewriting, since in a timber house you’re fully protected from the big, bad wolf: he can huff and puff all he likes, but there’s no way he’s blowing your house down!
Charity
The charity projects we undertake are mostly connected to being environmentally friendly in an educational way.
Nesting boxes all over Estonia
In 2014, in cooperation with Tallinn Bird Club, we made nesting boxes for a variety of birds according to their needs and characteristics. We made them so that the birds can again nest in parks and forests close to us where management has resulted in a lack of old, hollow trees. School kids from all over Estonia helped us put the nesting boxes up.
Between November 2015 and May 2016, instructors from the Estonian Ornithological Society paid visits to kindergartens the length and breadth of the country, teaching the kids about the birds they find in their gardens in summer and winter and how they can help them. Throughout winter they monitored the comings and goings at the feeding stations, then in spring nesting boxes were prepared and the kids studied the birdlife around their kindergartens. A total of 57 classes from 39 kindergartens in nine counties took part in the study programme, including 1089 kids and 148 teachers and other grown-ups. The project was supported by the Environmental Investment Centre, while Nordic Houses provided the nesting boxes.
Nordic Houses made a gift to Kuusalu kindergarten - outdoor learning pavilion
In association with Kuusalu Commune Administration and Nordic Houses, a pavilion was founded for outdoor learning, which is also available for kindergarten open air stage and learning space. The pavilion has a height of 3.3 meters, an area of 7 × 6 meters, and a stepping stroke that extends 2 meters further. In addition to kindergarten outdoor lessons, it is possible to organize open-air parties, concerts and performances there. We also donated wooden flower boxes with flowers in it to the kindergarten and to Kuusalu Commune Administration. Everyone was happy!
We plant trees
On 7 May 2016 we held a tree-planting event during which we planted close to 3000 pine trees in support of the education of Estonia’s youngsters. Our hard-working collective, alongside the NGO Hea Tahte Koda, whose members are the Estonian alumni of the unique international youth programme Up with People, have put together a project giving members of the public the chance to support the involvement of kids from Estonia in the programme by buying trees (see http://will.ee). In its activities, Up with People supports (among other things) an environmentally friendly and sustainable way of life at the global level, since over the years youngsters from 100 different countries have taken part in the programme. Estonia is a country of forests. Ulvar Kaubi, a representative of the State Forest Management Centre, commented on the busy day: “Everyone really put their backs into it. By the time we’d gotten about halfway through I thought the heat might wear people out and their rumbling tummies might get the better of them before everything was finished, but they soldiered on and we got all 3000 pines planted. Making a forest together puts a smile on people’s faces – everyone was really happy to be a part of it. The symbolic value of the land we were planting the trees on, which is just outside Hageri in Rapla County, is boosted by the knowledge that it’ll contribute to Hea Tahte Koda’s support for kids’ education.
Replenishing forests and planting new trees is a very important area of activity for the State Forest Management Centre. In order to manage forests sparingly you have to take good care of them over the years. This spring we’ll be planting almost 20 million trees in our national forests. After that we’ll be keeping an eye on all of the areas we plant them in, which will see the growth of a new generation of forest.”
Hea Tahte Koda and Nordic Houses would like to thank the fantastic instructors and everyone who shared their forestry wisdom with us, as well as the State Forest Management Centre’s Priit Kõresaar (director of silviculture for the south-west region) and Kadri Rütmann (forest ranger and forestry manager for the Rapla County forest management district). We hope this one-off event will turn into a long-standing tradition in support of expanding the horizons of diligent youngsters from Estonia and helping them discover the world.
Bird-watching tower in Vihasoo
A brand-new bird-watching tower is under construction in the coastal meadow in Vihasoo in Kuusalu municipality. Once completed, it will reach a height of 7 metres. “At first the plan was to build a 3-metre tower, but the decision was taken to erect a taller tower in order to provide a better view of the small islands in Eru Bay,” explained Linda Metsaorg from the Eru Bay Coastal People’s Association during the cornerstone ceremony held on 6 July 2016. “It’s great that there’s a company like Nordic Houses in Kuusalu that’s so willing to help out. The support they’ve given us in financing the construction of the tower and helping to get it erected is really gratifying.” We’ll find out more about the tower once it’s been completed.
We support culture
The Estonian Golf & Country Club in Jõelähtme played host to a summer theatre performance of ‘Salamander’. We provided the theatre building for the event, along with a terrace, so that the public would have a brand new venue at which to enjoy culture during the warmer months. The performance was a great success, as our own enterprising troupe saw first-hand.