As usual, the Rafael Kuusakoski Memorial Fund awarded scholarships. This year, 32 projects were awarded grants totalling €81 300, including one six-month working grant and 16 other grants. Eight of these were in memory of Professor Emeritus Rauno Ruuhijärvi, all of which were related to the promotion of forest or peatland conservation.

The Rafael Kuusakoski Memorial Fund, set up in 2000, provides support for young researchers in particular, and primarily for projects on Baltic Sea birds and archipelago biota, marine ecology, climate and landscape conservation.

This year's recipients are:

A six-month working grant:

FM Sabrina Nykänen, Jyväskylä, for her PhD thesis "The resilience and role of the river mussel (Margaritifera margaritifera) in stream ecosystems", €13 200.

Other grants:

Aapo Jantunen, PhD, Jyväskylä, for his PhD thesis "Modelling the development of plant communities in restored marshes using water level height", 1000 EUR (Emeritus Professor Rauno Ruuhijärvi Memorial Scholarship).

Laura Kares, LuK, Oulu, for a PhD thesis on the success of the endangered eagle owl, 1000 euros

LuK Alina Kiiskinen, Joensuu, for her PhD thesis "Epiphytic mosses of Kelopuiden", 1000 euros (Emeritus Professor Rauno Ruuhijärvi's memorial grant)

Mikko Kärkkäinen, PhD, Jyväskylä, for the development of the Luontovahti.fi service, 1000 EUR

LuK Nelli Leskisenoja, Jyväskylä, for her PhD thesis "Effects of forestry activities in the local environment on the plant community of springs", 1000 euros (Emeritus Professor Rauno Ruuhijärvi's memorial grant)

Luontoliitto ry, Helsinki, for organising discussion events on the EU Restoration Regulation, 2000 EUR

Association of Nature Surveyors, Helsinki, for organising a seminar on "Biodiversity in urban nature through deciduous wood" in Tampere, € 700

LuK Aino Niemi, Helsinki, for her PhD thesis "Municipalities' actions in protecting and promoting biodiversity", € 1000 (Emeritus Professor Rauno Ruuhijärvi Memorial Scholarship)

Nomad Vocals ry, Kuopio, for the charity concert series "Our Nature", 2000 euros

MMM, journalist Lotta Närhi, and FM Aino Huotari, Helsinki, for the documentary project "How to see the forest from the trees - alternative stories of forest use and ownership", 2000 euros (Emeritus Professor Rauno Ruuhijärvi's memorial grant)

LuK Ella Oksa, Nokia, for her PhD thesis "Evaluation of the effectiveness of the METSO programme using lichen surveys", 1000 euros (Emeritus Professor Rauno Ruuhijärvi's memorial grant)

Film producer Merja Ritola and screenwriter, director Jani Ahlstedt, Vihti, for the documentary film "The Redbreast that did not return", €2500

LL, VN Ilkka Sahi, Ruovesi, for the costs of the reprint of the book "Birds and Nature in Ruovesi", 1000 EUR

Veera Silenius, PhD, Jyväskylä, for her PhD thesis "Landscape-level optimisation of monitoring of deciduous tree species in Finland", 1000 euros (Emeritus Professor Rauno Ruuhijärvi's memorial grant)

Finnish Nature Conservation Union North Karelia District, Joensuu, for an inventory of threatened bogs in North Karelia, 2000 euros (Emeritus Professor Rauno Ruuhijärvi Memorial Scholarship)

Finnish League for Nature Conservation, Helsinki, for the organisation of a joint Nordic Wildflower Day, EUR 1000

The Rafael Kuusakoski Memorial Fund operates under the auspices of the Finnish Foundation for Nature Conservation, which celebrated its 60th anniversary last year. In 2023, the Foundation awarded grants totalling €81 300 to 32 projects.