In last 70 years, Soomaa National Park area has faced dramatic changes due to the economic and political situation in the 20th century from what human habitation has decreased more than 10 times (87 people according to local municipalities in 2011). With a loss of human inhabitants, lot of tangible and intangible cultural heritage has been lost as well. To preserve as much of what is left or has been gathered to museums throughout the years a web page http://maastikud.ee/ was created in 2007. Project carried out by local NGOs http://mardu.ee/ and Estonian Literary Museum has brought back several toponyms crucial for the area to reveal its past. Such toponyms play a vital role in modern conservation. Knowledge of traditional landscape usage, read out from these names, can give us a better understanding also on the changes in regions ecology.

• Estonian Fund For Nature is one of the initiators on creating of Soomaa NP. Organiser of different monitoring works and conservation holidays today http://talgud.ee.
• Estonian Fund For Nature is one of the oldest NGOs in the region, dealing mostly with different conservation issues and people living in Tipu village.
• Tipu Nature School is responsible for nature educational programs
• Mardu Studio is trying to bring back life to one of the few farms left in Soomaa area. Studying local intangible heritage and building an open studio for artists and designers

Soomaa National Park is the most valuable part of the remaining extensive wilderness area in South-West Estonia. Kuresoo Bog is one of the two best surviving large bogs in Estonia with species diversity amongst the highest.

When someday comes you'll need to get in.

When someday comes you'll need to be able to get around.