James borrell is a conservation scientist and science communicator, with a particular interest in how species adapt to changing climate.

Welcome to Kevo Subarctic Research Station

Earlier in the year I was lucky enough to win an EU-INTERACT grant for research in the Arctic. As with everything in science, that’s a rather epic acronym for… International Network for Terrestrial Research and Monitoring in the Arctic. Breath.

All in all, it encompasses 33 research stations all around the arctic, studying a wide variety of issues from climatology to oceanography, glaciology to geology… and a lot more ‘ologies‘.

I’ll be calling Kevo Subarctic Research Station, home for the next two weeks, while we study the surrounding birch forests. Here’s what it’s like…

Location – The northernmost tip of Finland and only about hundred kilometres from the coast of the Arctic Ocean (69°45’ N, 27°01’ E) right next to Kevo Strict Nature Reserve (712 km2). More info.
History – Opened in 1958.
Facility Manager – University of Turku
Nearest Town – Utsjoki (600 inhabitants)
Mean Annual Tempterature – -1.6°C
Staff – 20/7 (summer/winter)
Facilities – 15 buildings (including a sauna!)
Transport – Airstrip (the lake when frozen), helipad, snowmobiles (winter). We’ll be driving up from Rovaniemi!