Berry picking evokes mixed feelings among Finns as childhood memories resurface

Sari Lottonen walks in a forest near Hausjärvi, a berry picker in hand. She’s agreed to pick berries at Yle’s request, stating that otherwise she wouldn’t be in the woods. “I learned to go back to the forest in my forties because it meant a job for me,” Lottonen explains. Meanwhile, in Lahti, Eija Kiisk’s hands move rapidly as she fills a basket with blueberries. “This has been a lifestyle for me since childhood. Just fifteen minutes in the forest and all worries disappear,” Kiiski shares.

In Kuopio, Tatu Savolainen arrives for an interview without any berry-picking tools. “If I could let go of performance goals and just enjoy the berries, I could imagine it being fun. But getting started has been so difficult that I haven’t experienced that feeling,” Savolainen admits.

Over 700 people shared their childhood berry-picking memories with Yle. Some reminisce about negative experiences and refuse to enter the forest as adults. A fifth of the respondents consider berry picking distasteful, while most express their love for the activity, highlighting how negative experiences often transform over time.

Lottonen’s berry-picking ended in 1987 upon leaving her childhood home. “The scent of the forest brings back feelings of my childhood – walking two kilometers with a basket at seven in the morning. I’m already tired, knowing a long trip lies ahead,” she reflects.

Kiiski perceives berry picking differently, as a stress-relieving activity. “The forest is a place you want to return to repeatedly,” she states. Memories of time spent with their mothers resonate among many, illustrating a complex relationship with the activity that ranges from forced labor to enjoyment, often shaped by childhood experiences in the 1960s to 1980s.