Sabrina Logeais, nature and wilderness guide in Finland since 1998
Already as a child I was very interested in wilderness, wildlife, birds and other animals. I wanted to work close to the nature and animals. I was missing big forests, far away from cities.My dreams became reality when my studies took me to Quebec region in Canada That was where I felt being at home – in the forest!
I then later found the same kind of Taiga nature – boreal forest – closer to France, in Finland. I had already been studying nature guiding in France. Later in Finland I graduated as an international wilderness guide and become a professional wilderness guide.
I have been into wildlife photographing since I got my first “serious” camera for my A-level studies in nature science. All my life I have taken part in volunteering projects, like protection of birds (with LPO and ADEV in France) and planting trees for bears in Spain (FAPAS). Nowadays I am an active member of Finnish Association for Nature Conservation (FANC), at the moment one of the chair members in local association (Lentua-Seura). My other hobbies are taking care of my dog and during winter time restoring and renovating my old house and its furniture.
I arrived the small village of Lentiira, Kuhmo in 2001 to work as a bear watching guide and wildlife guide. A perfect place when you look for nature and quietness. The area has a varied wildlife and nature including valuable boreal forests, swamps ans waters, the Taiga. In 2007, I created my own company “Taiga Spirit, nature and wilderness experiences” to welcome same-minded guests to enjoy the wildlife as I enjoy it – and to share my passion for wildlife and nature photographing.
The same year 2007 I bought an old heath house from Lentiira. I started to restore it to offer B&B service. The house was built by the Red Cross in 1939-1940, and its architecture is protected. I owe great thanks to members of the village who helped me to restore the outside of the house! To be a council member of village association as well as part of local rural development project was important to me. I feel that here in Lentiira we have a good spirit, we help each others, and I am proud to be one of the entrepreneurs in our village.
Guests are couraged to visit the village´s bakery on Saturdays and to walk a tour around to discover the various cultural places like Lentiira´s church.
During the excursions, I am pleased to introduce not only the Finnish wildlife but also the local culture and traditional beliefs. When staying any longer, and keeping an open mind, my guests learn to understand and to protect both the nature and the local way of life.