Riihimäki Perhospuisto park has won the Green Flag Award in 2024-2025

In Finland, high-quality maintained Green Flag Award green areas have been awarded for several years. At the Lepaa exhibition today, August 15, 2024, 21 green areas that won the Green Flag Award were announced. Some are already familiar Green Flag Award parks and there are three completely new destinations.

For the first time, the Green Flag Award was won by Fjällbo park in Tuusula, AhlmanEdu Kampus in Tampere and Myllyranta park in Lempäälä. Perhospuisto park in Riihimäki got the award for the second time, like many other parks in Finland.

The diversity of the Perhospuisto park and the attractive plantings made an impression

Perhospuisto park, which participated in the search for the emblem for the second time, convinced the judges with its good functions, versatility and attractive plantings. The judges were particularly pleased with the park's theme related to butterflies, the versatility of the vegetation and the structures that promote biodiversity.

The Perhospuisto park is located north of Riihimäki in the Juppala district. The park has been planted with a variety of food plants for butterflies and there are information signs about butterflies and a butterfly poetry trail in the area. The Perhospuisto park was renovated in 2020–21.

The number of green areas that won the badge increased again from the previous year. The number is now the largest in Finland's Green Flag Award history.

The Green Flag Award is an internationally significant recognition

The Green Flag Award is an award system recognizing the quality of the maintenance and management of green areas, which is managed internationally by the British environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, and in Finland by the Finnish Environment Association.

The Green Flag Award has been awarding parks in Finland since 2016, when the park on the Lepaa campus of Häme University of Applied Sciences was awarded the first label.

High-quality Green Flag Award destinations take into account the area's users, the environment and the operational strategy. The green areas that have won the Finnish Green Flag Award join the international network of more than 2 green areas in 400 different countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Turkey, Belgium, Spain and the United States.

The Green Flag Award system is the only one of its kind in the whole world, where a trained jury evaluates the operation of the green area both in writing with the help of a maintenance and management plan and on site visits. Every year, each applicant receives written professional feedback, which evaluates the functions of the green area using a set of criteria containing 27 points. The criteria establish general standards for high-quality green areas, which can be used to justify and develop the funding required by the areas and to attract more users to green areas, for example.

Photos: Niina Rimpiläinen

Explore the Perhospuisto Park

Check out Perhospuisto's online poetry trail

Read previous news 17.8.2023 August 2023: Riihimäki Butterfly Park has won the Green Flag Award

Green Flag Award project in Finland

Green Flag Award web pages