Background This project took place in the hemiboreal zone, a narrow strip along Finland's southern coast close to the cities of Turku, Kaarina and Salo. These areas have a growing population, related to increasing economic activity. Nokia, for example, is a major employer in Salo. Population growth has both direct and indirect impacts on the Natura 2000 sites in the area. In addition, coastal uplift, eutrophication and changes in traditional land use are causing rapid changes. The island of Ruissalo, to the south-west of Turku, has experienced considerable human impact. Ruissalo is both a location for more than half of all the virgin oak stands in Finland, sheltering the hermit beetle (Osmoderma eremita), and an important outdoor recreation area for Turku, with a spa resort hotel, a camping area, a golf course, and the annual Ruisrock Festival. The island is long and narrow with only one bridge to the mainland, and traffic pollution concentrated on the main road is a burden for the entire island. Three of the other project areas are bays with valuable bird life; nesting birds include the corncrake (Crex crex) and bittern (Botaurus stellaris). Threats include increasing recreational use, overgrowth of meadows, increasing spruce-dominance and the lack of dead trees, and alien species such as the mink and raccoon dog. Objectives The project aimed to prepare and implement management plans for the areas within its scope. The project also planned to reduce car traffic to the island of Ruissalo by building a parking place before the bridge. Construction work was also planned to protect coastal meadows from wave erosion caused by passing shipping traffic. Further aims were to channel visitors via nature trails, to provide information panels and bird observation towers, and to move jetties or construct new ones so as to relieve pressures on the area. The project also planned to acquire land for restoration of meadow (80 hectares) and forest (30 hectares) habitats. Open water areas in the bays, used by birds, were to be extended by dredging. In Salo, it was planned to restore disused wastewater plant ponds so that they could be used as nesting and staging places for birds. Finally, the project planned to develop an innovative mobile nature guide map. Results The project had mixed results; the project plan was ambitious and it proved unable to meet all of the objectives that the project originally set for itself. The project fell short in particular in terms of acquisition of land for restoration and conservation. The project reached 40 percent of the land acquisition target, much of which was acquired from a public body. Nevertheless, the project restored and managed almost 200 hectares of coastal meadows and dry meadows, though the meadow restoration targets were reached only in some sites. The project also restored around eight hectares of herb-rich forest, though this was considerably less than the 30 hectares foreseen. The project also carried out work to create recreational facilities (nature trails, bird platforms/hides/towers, jetties, information points, shelters and boards), though these were also less extensive than foreseen, especially on Ruissalo island. Other results achieved by the project were as follows: Inventories of several species groups were completed (bats, birds, plants, molluscs, beetles, bracket fungi) in the project areas, and part of the results were published. Several rare and threatened beetles were found in the herb-rich forests. Bat protection was enhanced (preparation of the bat protection plan for Ruissalo, placement of bat boxes and renovation of a cellar for critically endangered Myotis natterii and other bat species). Restoration and management plans were prepared for meadows and forests, and recreational plans were drafted for all project areas, though several plans were not finalised. 12 hectares of land was acquired for nature protection, though the accompanying restoration actions were not completed during the project period. Artificial nests were built for Circus aeroginosus and Pandion haliaetus and breeding islets were constructed for gulls and terns. Breakwaters were built to reduce the erosion of the coastline of Ruissalo, and a waterbus jetty was built (more than 6 500 people used the waterbus in 2006). Recreational facilities were enhanced with new nature trails, bird hides/platforms/towers, a look-out tower in Vaarniemi, parking areas, and removal of the Friskala jetty to a site where boat traffic causes less disturbance. A comprehensive GIS nature map was prepared for Ruissalo. More than 100 guided nature trips were arranged. Bat observation trips in particular were very popular. Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report (see "Read more" section).