On the Move in Wet Soils

On Mire with Digital Equipment

Authors

• Kirsi Maria Laurén University of Oulu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5277-6084
• Tiina Seppä University of Eastern Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7511-289X

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30666/elore.147589

Keywords:

relation to nature, bogs, affect, digital aestheticization, affectivity

Abstract

We examine the digital aestheticisation of mires, which most often occurs through photography. The material for this article is based on walking interviews conducted in two mire areas, focusing particularly on the experience of mires in conjunction with digital devices. We explore mire experiences through the concepts of environmental aestheticisation and affect, reflecting on how the presence of digital devices influences people's nature experiences.

The study focuses on two sensitive, protected areas in Finland: Viiankiaapa in Lapland and Patvinsuo National Park, located on the border between Lieksa and Ilomantsi in North Karelia. Both areas are valuable both ecologically and aesthetically and are part of the Natura 2000 network. These areas are fragile in different ways: all mire areas and their species are threatened by climate warming and drying, but Viiankiaapa faces an additional acute threat due to a planned mineral mine beneath it, making it a focal point of ongoing debate.

In our article, we also detail the walking interview method, which focuses on digital devices and sensory experiences, as well as the specific features of the wet mire areas that shape both the experiences described by the interviewees and the unique material collected. Walking on the duckboards in the mire requires following one another in single file, and the distances are long, resulting in interviews that are both lengthy and meandering.

Digital technology expands the ways humans perceive their environment, which also affects aesthetic appreciation and the relationship with nature. Devices and applications motivate us to observe nature, increase knowledge about nature, make life easier, and reduce fears, such as of getting lost.

Attitudes toward photography and aestheticisation are not absolute. Nature walkers are aware of the distancing effect of devices from nature, yet at the same time, the increased knowledge they provide is often seen as an added value. Above all, the mire experience is difficult to verbalise and affective.