“I want something good to come from my forest”

Bertil Kantola, in Männikkö, is a very aware and committed forest owner. For him, it is important that neither the forest nor the timber is left to chance.

“I want to see substantial logs that I’d like to become buildings or furniture. The result of the forestry should be something endowed with quality.”

The forest is owned by Bertil and his nephew and covers an area of 125 hectare. Half of the forest has been handed down for 80 years and half has been bought in the last five years.

As a forest owner, what do you think is important?

“Looking after your forest. I feel almost desperate when owners do not look after their forests, leaving them looking like a jungle,” Bertil says.

He feels a great responsibility for the forest. Something he learned while he was still a child and it has remained with him through all the years.

“My grandfather taught me how to behave in the forest and how it important it is. I have always been in the forest, repairing cabins and I worked with clearing during the holidays. I have worked near the forest as part of my job. Life has been the forest.”

Faithful for generations

Bertil and his nephew sell everything to Krekula & Lauri Såg.

“The reason is long lasting trust. Father always sold to Krekula & Lauri, he even worked at the sawmill and we have always come to verbal agreement. This trust is also built on expert knowledge and helpfulness,” Bertil says.

“I always receive good advice, which I take notice of. Just because you’re getting older, it doesn’t mean you’re getting any wiser! One example is from last year, when I had 10,000 pine trees blown down and I received good advice on how I should cut them with a chainsaw at the roots, and the result was truly excellent.”

There is a greater goal

Bertil places great importance on the whole and sustainability. This means more than getting the maximum value out of the forest.

“I do not want to burden and poison nature more than necessary and, for this reason, I don’t want the trucks driving long distances to the coast. I want everything to go locally and the district needs the sawmill as industry and employer. The feeling, love and responsibility are more important than the last penny.”

Bertil’s three best tips for a good forest

• Start when the forest is young, in just the same way you do with children. Take care of the forest, be thorough with thinning, care for it with tenderness.
• Think economically, also for the district’s best. Sell to sawmills close-by.
• Spend time in the forest and get to know it. You must visit and enjoy being in the forest to understand it.