"Gardener Marko Ahola had arrived from Ostrobothnia to guide us bewildered city dwellers through the secrets of cultivation. During the lecture, a huge number of things were covered, from choosing a pot and pre-growing seedlings to the uses of different herbs and wintering plants. The guiding principle of the evening was that you can in principle grow any variety on a balcony and terrace, starting with fruit trees and berry bushes, as long as you ensure sufficient nutrients, heat, light and moisture," said Venla, the institutes service and administration manager, summarizing the lessons he learned from Marko Aholas balcony gardening course. Read Venlas full article about the course here.

---

“I graduated from the Faculty of Education at the University of Helsinki and have worked as an early childhood education teacher my entire adult life. However, an old dream and hobby of flowers, colors and aesthetics made me consider changing fields. I was encouraged to retrain and graduated as a florist. I am interested in small, decorative works, arrangements, wreaths and playing with natural materials. My love for nature and flowers and creative work with my hands has completely taken me away. Combining pedagogical expertise and flower-tying skills made me apply to become a course teacher and now I want to share my expertise. And infect others with the spark of ‘flower madness’!”

---

“I graduated with a Master of Philosophy from the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences of the University of Helsinki with a major in meteorology. I work as a senior meteorologist at the Meteorological Department, and I act as a liaison manager selling weather services. In addition to my work, I have taught cloud and other weather courses at Helsinki Adult Education and Workers’ Colleges for years. Since my work also involves communications, I often have to think about how to formulate things in a way that you don’t have to be a meteorologist to understand. Teaching is the same for me. As a teacher, I am easily enthusiastic and want to share my interest in the wonderful world of clouds, but not in a too high-flying way. Cloud courses are suitable for those who want to learn to predict the weather, for example because of your boating or bird watching hobby. As a landscape painter or photographer, you may be interested in recording cloud views. You are also welcome to the course if you want to learn to identify or distinguish different types of clouds from a hammock!” Photo: Timo Pyhälahti

---

I am Ulla-Rebecca Magnoli, an Italian-Finnish gardener specializing in green plants. After working in early childhood education for many years, I went to study different types of cultivation, floriculture and horticulture. My company Biofilia was born from the desire to share my experience of the joys of living with green plants. I am excited to be able to give people the information and tools they need to bring a piece of nature into their homes. I want to bring my own spices to the field and work innovatively and without prejudice, respecting nature and the environment. Find out more at www.vihersisustusbiofilia.fi.

“Summers are spent sailing in the Baltic Sea, the Mediterranean, the Atlantic and the Caribbean, but in the winter I enjoy teaching boating courses,” says Mika Piiroinen, who works as a boating and navigation instructor authorized by the Finnish Sailing and Boating Association, the Finnish Navigation Instructors, Sailing Instructors and the Finnish Navigation Association. “In addition, I produce learning material for the Finnish Navigation Instructors’ courses and train new boating instructors in mastering pedagogical skills. As an education professional, I want to make course participants enjoy learning new things. Perhaps the best feedback is to see familiar faces going around the different courses, increasing their boating knowledge.”

---

Jukka is a Master of Social Sciences graduate in tourism studies, who combines critically selected sources with 25 years of practical experience in the service business sector in his teaching. Within the framework of his company, he has worked as a beer trainer for a Dutch beer brand and a coffee trainer for an Italian coffee company. “Cocktail: history and phenomena” is Jukka’s first course at the Helsinki Adult Education Center, near which he walks daily with his dog Elmo. He also enjoys literature, badminton and small-scale berry farming. Jukka is satisfied if the course manages to briefly shift attention from alcohol as a mere pleasure substance towards its other social elements.
Photo: Ed Anderson

---