The Evo campus is quite deep in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by many trees on every direction and far away from shopping centers, restaurants and S-markets. Maybe that’s why you came to study here. But far too often do I see myself and others not using the full potential of what this place has to offer.
If you are a potential new student wondering what people do in an isolated place not close to civilization or current student studying at Evo endlessly doom scrolling, wasting your time watching too many YouTube videos I have a few good recommendations on what to do. Watching a good reel or a fifty of them is sometime okay, but limits should be set.
Going into the forest
The Evo area is quite famous for many people who love the outdoors and there are many hiking paths going through the area. On them you can discover many things. Whimsical forests, lakes, small ponds, many animals, big rocks, annoying mosquitos in summer and many other things. Because of the history of this area with the school, there is a big teaching forest where some people long ago and currently tried to figure out forestry and so they planted different species, different densities of trees and tried out different management methods. That leads to very unique forest stands hard to find elsewhere. You can admire them, learn from them or, after studying here for a while, even understand why some aren’t the best idea. If you have a bike, even better.
Foraging
There is an old law called all mans right, meaning you can walk into any forest in Finland even if it’s not yours and with no permission. Not only are the forests full of many edible food things like mushrooms, blueberries, lingonberries, raspberries and other berries. After collecting them, you can eat the berries straight up and mushrooms in a nice sauce. You can also preserve them into jams, sirups, dehydrating and freezing to last you all winter.
Gym
Get jacked and get healthy at our well-equipped gym with barbells, machines and enough iron even for the strongest of people. It’s free and open the whole day. We even have good mats for yoga people.
Kluuben
A giant sports hall is heated even in winter. There is a big court where you can play basketball, football, badminton with a net and rackets, table tennis, boxing gloves and bags and some hockey gear. Students are free to always use it and once in a while students host competitions where you can test your skills.
Greenhouse
One of my favorite places at Evo and a frequented hub where people meet for leisure time. Inside are many comfy couches and seating areas to play board games, a ps4 with decent games, a lot of movies and a big screen where a computer can be connected for watching your own stuff. There is also a pool table, ping pong table, darts, electric and acoustic piano and drums for musicians.
Sauna
There are many saunas on campus but in the new main sauna building are 2 saunas. One for women and a larger one for everybody which is bigger. Students light it up themselves since it’s a proper wood stove oven. Inside you can socialize and always meet someone to talk to. For SFM students it’s a great place to practice your Finnish with Finnish students. If you come there just for the heat and all the health benefits it provides that’s fine too, and it is also common for everybody to enjoy the silence of the crackling wood and relaxing atmosphere. After you get out of the sauna, there is a lake which is great for a little swim and a nice place to cool down.
School building
Even after school ends there are many good places to study or do schoolwork. It beats home since there aren’t many distractions and you get a boost in productivity. There are many classrooms and 2 computer rooms with dual screen monitors making it easier to write and finish your reports. In the showroom there are different trees, plants and bugs on display. They are easier to identify if you see them in person. We also have a library with all the books you will need to know more about forestry and other things related to it.
Language Café
We study Finnish in class, however every week we organize a short meeting with other Finnish and International students that is very casual and includes coffee, tea and snacks. We learn Finnish in a fun way with games and other means and each week we talk about a different topics to boost our vocabulary but most importantly to have fun and a good time. No matter if you’re completely new to Finnish or a native speaker, it is a great place to learn and meet other people.
Bouldering and Floorball
Once a week students borrow the school vans and for free can head to 2 places.
One is bouldering in Lahti where there are located a few different bouldering gyms. If you are curious and want to join even if you have never tried before you only need to pay the small amount for the entering fee.
We also go to play floorball nearby in Tuulos where all the equipment is and all you need there are some clothes to move in.
Beach court
The moment it gets warm at Evo what better way to spend an afternoon than getting your feet all sandy and throwing a ball over a net.
Canoeing
Evo campus is surrounded by 3 lakes all connected to each other. The canoes which lay next to the dock are there for students wanting to go on a little voyage. For the price of a small workout or that of your partner in the boat, you can have a relaxing joyride traversing the calm waters and discovering secrets along side the edges of the lake and narrow canals connecting them.
Fishing and Ice fishing
Catch fish or just drink beer if there aren’t any. We got drills and foldable chairs for any brave enough to endure ice fishing. Lucky fishers get to have free dinner.
Campfire
There are about a dozen campfires around Evo area and 2 located close to the school. A great place to cook some makara, sausages, bring some hot coco or something boozey to warm you up if the fire cant.
Northen lights
Evo is in a place where you can see them. Install the aurora app, check the forecast and make the notification loud enough to wake u up in the deepest of sleep. How often does one get to witness something as magical as green rays pouring from the sky in a beautiful dance. Those nights are unforgettable and worth checking out.
Cross country skiing
Treading the winter snow on foot can be troublesome but with skies no place cannot be reached. A great way to use extra endurance if you have some. There are many paths in winter that are plowed through just for the people who use the tracks. There is a path that is lit up even in the dark of winter.
Events
There are special events that happen every year which have been going on for decades and still going on to this day and become part of its tradition. Almost all students participate so it’s a great place to meet new people and get to know the ones you know better. There is always food, drinks, music and a good time:
Annual sledding – students come in with their sleds and go sledding down a hill.
Barn dance – tradition music with dance,
Bus – its like a pub crawl but with a bus.
Alkopumaus – students from different campuses get together to walk around the city of Hameenlinna to complete different tasks with your team.
Snow football, Christmas celebration, Halloween and many more.
All in all, use your time wisely, balance your school, work, and free time in way you don’t regret it later. Its okay if you don’t do everything, big events with a lot of people aren’t for everybody but if you’re going to stay cooped up inside your room all the time you might miss out, use every chance you get to do something special and remember, its still better to do nothing if you’re doing nothing with a friend.
