In the second round of the Small funding call, the Nessling Foundation has decided to fund four projects with a total of €37,600 in support. The next Small funding round will take place in March 2026.
Nessling Foundation’s Small funding is intended to support the work of civil society actors in advancing the sustainability transformation. This year, a total of seven projects were funded. We have already published the three projects selected in the first round, and here are four additional important projects that contribute, each in their own distinct way, to accelerating the sustainability transformation.
Project 1: Mining, sustainability transformation and civic engagement in Ilomantsi
- Grantee: Ilomantsin luonnonystävät ry
- Project: Mining, sustainability transformation and civic engagement in Ilomantsi
- Granted amount: €10,000
In the municipality of Ilomantsi, roughly one third of the land area has been allocated for the operations of a gold mining company. The planned expansion of mining activities poses serious risks to local water bodies, peatlands, and biodiversity. These risks are not adequately recognised, as currently only the mining company’s voice is being heard.
The aim of the project is to rebalance this asymmetry, democratise the flow of information, engage local residents, and encourage them to exercise their right and responsibility to protect the natural environment in which they live. The project also seeks to create space for discussion grounded in independent, research-based knowledge. As part of the project, an event on the topic of nature and mining will be organised to bring together experts, citizens, and decision-makers.
Project 2: From ditch to hitch – How forest ditches became a threat to Finland’s lakes
- Grantee: Karu Agency Oy / Kari Salmi
- Project: From ditch to hitch – How forest ditches became a threat to Finland’s lakes
- Granted amount: €8,000
The aim of the project is to raise the understanding of ordinary citizens and decision-makers about the harms of forest ditching to the same level as that of the scientific community, which already knows these impacts in detail. The project will produce a video series that clearly and accessibly visualises the mechanisms through which forest ditching causes damage.
The goal is to alert the wider public to the harms of ditching and to the urgent need to change current practices, for example through reforms to the legislation. Although some public pressure has already emerged — including a citizens’ initiative — general awareness of the impacts of forest ditching remains low and requires strengthening.
Project 3: Hands-on hope: co-creating concrete solutions for agroecological transformations in Finnish food systems
- Grantee: Kohti kestävää ruokajärjestelmää / Biodynaaminen yhdistys ry
- Project: Hands-on hope: co-creating concrete solutions for agroecological transformations in Finnish food systems
- Granted amount: €10,000
The Kohti Kestävää Ruokajärjestelmää (Towards a Sustainable Food System) network will implement a series of events designed to strengthen sustainable food systems through events that focus on different stages of the value chain. The event series aims to make the sustainability transformation of food systems visible and accessible, using formats that are activating, participatory, and creative.
The project’s goal is to bring together change-makers, strengthen the agroecological transition in Finland, and expand the network and its ability to support that transition. It seeks to create new multidisciplinary and multi-voiced collaboration, lower the barriers between actors in the food system, and enhance participants’ sense of inclusion.
Each event will include an experiential component: hands-on activities, expert talks in dialogue with participants, a shared meal made from local ingredients, and reflections on how to apply what has been learned to one’s own work.
Project 4: Highlighting the emissions from companies’ supply chains outside the EU
- Grantee: Finnwatch ry
- Project: Highlighting the emissions from companies’ supply chains outside the EU
- Granted amount: €10,000
Due to cuts in public funding, Finnwatch hasn’t recently been able to carry out the kinds of investigations that previously sparked broad public debate about the emissions of companies operating in Finland and their supply chains.
In this project, Finnwatch will advance the sustainability transformation of economics by preparing a monitoring report that examines the actions Finnish companies are taking to reduce emissions in their supply chains outside the EU, and compares these actions with those of previous years.
The aim is to encourage companies to steer actors within their supply chains towards the use of cleaner energy sources. The project focuses particularly on supply chains outside the EU, as these fall outside the scope of direct national and EU-level emissions regulation.