“Far to the North under the Great Bear, Sápmi shines. Ridge upon ridge, lake stretching into lake. Rocky cliffs, craggy peaks point to the sky. Streams laugh, woods whisper. Steely precipices drop, descend into the stormy sea.”

Isak Saba

Location: Kevo Subarctic Research Station, Utsjoki, at the northernmost tip of Finland, about one hundred kilometres from the coast of the Arctic Ocean. It lies about 60 km north of the continuous pine forest line and belongs to the sub-arctic Mountain Birch Forest Zone at the forest-tundra ecotone.

Objective: I am here to assist James Borrell with the collection of samples of Dwarf Birch (Betula nana) for genetic analysis. A comparison is to be made between the genetic health of endangered populations in Scotland with those in Finland.

Research Period: 22nd July – 6th August 2013

I will be updating our progress on my ‘TweetedTrips’ map with photos and tweets from the field!