At 92, Harald Helander paddles to defend Inarijärvi

Veteran conservationist Harald Helander, 92, took to his kayak on Saturday to protest development plans around Lake Inari, Yle reports. The long-time activist, known locally as “Harald the Terrible,” led a 20-kilometre paddle to rally opposition to luxury hotel projects threatening the wilderness lake.

Helander, a retired construction engineer, has fought for Lapland’s nature since the 1980s, when large-scale logging in Upper Lapland prompted him to abandon his career abroad and return to Finland. He has since campaigned internationally, securing coverage in major publications like Der Spiegel and Le Monde to highlight the region’s environmental struggles.

His latest protest targets two major tourism projects on Lake Inari’s shores. Actor Jasper Pääkkönen’s planned luxury hotel in Inari’s Nanguniemi has already gained legal approval, while a second hotel project by the late investor Veikko Lesonen was rejected twice by Inari’s council—though cottage development remains permitted under current zoning.

Helander, who has paddled the lake since the 1950s, insists it must be protected as a national park. “Lake Inari is now under threat from cottages and luxury hotels,” he said. “This doesn’t belong in a wilderness lake. We have to act.”

Joining him was 14-year-old Inari Liisanantti, a local student from Nellim. Helander, impressed by her passion, invited her to the protest. “It’s extraordinary to have a young girl stand beside you,” he said. A documentary on the paddle, filmed by Inari-based filmmaker Kevin Francett, will premiere in Inari this autumn.

Helander criticises confrontational activism, such as defacing parliament buildings, arguing it alienates the public. Instead, he advocates for persuasion: “You must make people understand and stand with you, not against you.” He reserves his sharpest criticism for former US President Donald Trump, whom he blames for dismissing climate science.

Reflecting on his decades of activism, Helander said he had no choice but to fight for nature. “I’ve tried to show how you can live with nature without destroying it.”