Unique Elonkierto
Elonkierto is a free-of-charge exhibition park for agricultural and natural resources, which compares and tells about the past and present of food production. The unique learning and recreational complex are in Kanta-Häme in the municipality of Jokioinen. About 30,000 visitors visit here every year.
Elonkierto, which covers approximately 19 hectares, was established in 1998 and was maintained until 2019 mainly with funds from the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke). At the beginning of 2020, the man agement of the park was transferred to the Association of the Friends of Elonkierto. Now, in addition to the municipality of Jokioinen and Natural Resources Institute Finland, the operations are supported by about 20 companies and nearly twenty regional an d national associations or other organisations – and more partners are welcome to join us! The development of the activities has also received funding from the Countryside Fund Leader -group LounaPlus and many other funding bodies including funding bodies of the European Union.
Exhibition path
Step on the park’s exhibition path to learn about sustainable food production and the relationship between the well-being of people, animals, and the environment! You can follow 1–2 kilometer routes of your choice, along which you will meet Finnish indigenous domestic animals in the summer and find crops adapted to our northern farming conditions. Herbs and field flowers also flourish in Elonkierto.
Read more about the park’s permanent exhibition here.
Services
In Elonkierto Barn (Makasiini), you will find an information centre and a Café serving coffee, refreshments, ice cream and pastries. The café’s opening hours and more information can be found here. There is also a bouncing place made of straw in the Barn.
Along the exhibition trail, there are also rest shelters suitable for eating your snacks, a gazebo, and a wooden hut with a campfire site. In wintertime, a pop-up dog park has been set upin the goat enclosure.
Toilets can be found in the main parking lot and behind the Barn.
Events
Elonkierto organises events throughout the year. Themed tours in summer, Christmas trail in winter and Easter event in spring have already become traditions. Elonkierto also actively takes part in promoting domestic food production, for example in Local Food Day and Open Farms happenings.
Over the years, Elonkierto has also hosted nature clubs, market events, plays, exhibitions, water conservation projects, theme nights and much more.
Follow our current events on Facebook!
Theme events and guided tours
The starting point for the Elonkierto is to promote cooperation based on the sustainable use of natural resources and the principles of the circular economy. The park’s permanent exhibition illustrates the diversity of the rural environment, tells about climate change and soil health, and highlights the relationship between food production, and human and animal welfare.
Elonkierto welcomes groups of all ages to learn about the origin of food, the effects of climate change, and the relationships between humans and animals. You can book a themed guided tour, presentation, or a thematic workshop based on your interest, around the season from us in advance. Please don’t hesitate to contact us for more information!
OTHER THINGS TO SEE NEAR ELONKIERTO
Nearby you can find Wendla Garden and Ferraria hillside park kept by Natural Resources Institute Finland, Willebrand’s manor park, and the apple orchard of the National Genetic Resources Programme which all link perfectly into Elonkierto. The area is also home to the Uranus Observatory.
The museum train of the Jokioinen Museum Railway works on summer weekends and in winter on special occasions. The railway’s terminus in Jokioinen is found less than a kilometre from Elonkierto.
There are two national parks in the neighbouring municipality of Tammela. The distance from Elonkierto is 15km to Torronsuo and 34km to Liesjärvi.
