Ecological Sustainability
The Meteoria Söderfjärden Visitor Centre - Vierailukeskus Söderfjärdenin Meteoriihi – has consistently operated a sustainable business with renewable, climate- friendly off-grid energy production. Meteorian's sustainable overall solution and combination with exclusive and ecological elements were noted, including its own renewable electricity production with wind and solar, and a biodiesel generator as backup. These solutions generated the Meteoria the enviromantal price Nordes Gröna Bälte (the Nordic Green Belt) in 2011.
In December 2022, Meteorian received the insurance company LokalTapiola's environmental scholarship as recognition for its sustainability work.
Overview of the Meteoria area
I. Active members of the Meteoria section within the Sundom local community association have, from the start, protected the site's unique natural and cultural heritage – including the meteorite crater, the geological and archaeological finds on the crater rim, the cultivated landscape, and the birdlife.
II. Volunteer efforts by members of the Meteoria section, in collaboration with universities, colleges, research institutions, and local organizations, have managed Meteorian's operation and dynamic and sustainable development.
III. Sustainable development has been an overarching goal from the outset for the centre's construction and management. All buildings are wooden structures made from local timber, the main building is a repurposed old log barn moved to the site.
The facility's environmental profile is highlighted by closed eco/dry toilets, infiltration of greywater, and organized waste management, as well as rainwater purification for utility water.
For serving, primarily second-hand tableware is used, obtained through donations or purchases at flea markets.
Fair trade coffee/tea and locally produced crater buns are the centre's standard offerings.
IV. In collaboration with Novia University of Applied Sciences, the centre's weather conditions, energy production, and energy consumption can be monitored in real-time via a digital IoT system. See Meteoria's website homepage: https://www.meteoria.fi
V. Meteorian's range of facilities and attractions has been continuously expanded over the years. The latest major expansions occurred in 2022 and 2023, when an expansion of exhibition spaces and an innovative update of energy production and energy storage were carried out. This enables operation practically year-round at the centre, which annually attracts tens of thousands of visitors from near and far, including many school groups.
VI. Since Meteorian received STF certification as a green pioneer, the annual guide training also includes sections on sustainable development. The centre's guides also wear a pin for the UN's Agenda 2030.
In Meteorian's operations, social and cultural sustainability is a given starting point. In all activities, we promote the UN's global sustainability goals for human rights, equal value for all, gender equality, equity, and social justice.
We meet visitors with kindness and respect. Our guides and site hosts communicate
in the language guests choose: always Finnish, Swedish, or English, and sometimes also other languages or Ostrobothnian dialects if the guide masters them. Our aim is to engage in an equal dialogue with visitors. Enriching perspectives often emerge in conversation, as visitors contribute their insights and experiences regarding the themes presented in the exhibitions.
Since volunteer work is an essential part of Meteorian's management and development, it means recurring association meetings and work party occasions (the annual work party hours have for many years exceeded one thousand) togetherness and enriching social interaction for tens of participants. Trust and social competence are strengthened in the local community, as decisions are made jointly and when the joint effort yields visible results.
Continuous information to and exchange of ideas with residents in the immediate area about our activities and the center's future plans is important. Annually, the public is invited to a autumn market and open-house day held in cooperation with the area's agricultural and other organizations. The Meteoria section regularly informs about the center's activities via its own web and social media, press, radio and local TV, as well as the village association's annual local publication ”Murmursunds Allehanda.”
Meteoria's popularized offerings through exhibitions and facilities are based on research and established knowledge. Therefore, the center's versatile cooperation with universities, colleges, research institutions, museums, and visitor centers in our own country and abroad is of great importance. But cooperation with local and regional actors is also extremely significant – associations, Visit Vasa, tourism entrepreneurs, individual farmers in the villages by Söderfjärden, municipal and state authorities.
Our exhibits and guided tours are based on facts of the earth's and the site's history, traditions, environment, and forecasts for the future. The offerings are continuously developed based on emerging new knowledge and with consideration for the interests of other actors.
Information about Meteoria's STF status: with a large banner on Meteoria's balcony, information on the center's web and Facebook, in local and regional media, and participation in an Ostrobothnian road trip in sustainability – a video that was made in the winter of 2023 in cooperation with VASEK (Vaasa Region Development Company) and Sustainable Travel Finland, STF – a national program for sustainable tourism – see the 14 minute video:
Environmental sustainability has been an established guiding principle for the center since its opening.
Our own renewable energy production has been expanded according to increasing electricity needs. Today we have solar panels, a wind turbine, and batteries for energy storage that provide a secure supply for 9-10 months of the year. With backup from a biodiesel-powered generator and temperature controls, occasional events have been possible even during the darkest and coldest months of the year in the heatable exhibition building.
A possible energy supplement can also be obtained by recharging the biomeiler, i.e., a large compost of fresh wood chips and horse manure, which was used in 2020-21.
Low-energy lamps and energy-saving control of installations are used throughout.
To secure the energy supply for the existing year-round operational needs, our own renewable energy production has been expanded. In 2023, new solar panels were mounted vertically on the center's bird tower. The vertical panels facing southeast and southwest produce energy even with low winter sun. Energy storage was increased with a lithium battery bank in an expanded energy cellar.
In the autumn of 2023, a new, larger wind turbine could be installed thanks to insurance compensation for the old windmill that had blown down.
Time-consuming volunteer efforts have been required to get Meteoria's new wind turbine to function. This has been shown in two TV reports on Swedish YLE:
- in the autumn of 2023 about Meteoria's sustainable energy production:
- in the autumn of 2024 a short news video and a radio segment that was broadcast on VEGA:
Meteoria's illustrative energy production is also presented in our visitor program. The facility can thus be a model for small-scale expansion of green energy. Especially, visiting school groups have over the years received and will continue to receive easily understandable lessons in sustainable energy generation.
See the project ”Learning Hub Meteoria” under the heading ACTION PLAN 2025-2026.
Meteoria's small-scale energy system constitutes a ”living lab” for students at university and colleges in Vaasa. Several research projects have been carried out and are ongoing regarding Meteoria's energy supply in collaboration with Novia University of Applied Sciences, the University of Vaasa, and the University Åbo Akademi.
Example of a research report in the journal Heliyon, an article published in November 2023 ”Development of a nano-size off-grid energy system using renewables and IoT technologies at the Meteoria visitor center: A Finnish case study”.
Currently, two students from Åbo Akademi are involved in diploma theses in energy technology and computer science for energy management.
A student at Novia University of Applied Sciences in Vaasa is conducting a study for their master's degree: ”AI for minimizing biodiesel consumption at the Meteoria Söderfjärden visitor center”.
The research project is based on the weather forecasts for the next two days and the center's group bookings and temperature needs for the exhibition. The goal is to minimize generator usage and fuel consumption. In connection with the continuously ongoing energy expansion, investments will also be made to further improve the pedagogical presentation of the entire energy process, including with screens. See also the project ”Learning Hub Meteoria” under the heading ACTION PLAN 2025-2026.
In the warm meteorite and crater expo/lecture building from 2023, which was expanded by 42 m2 (No. 4 in the overview image), there is, in addition to a new crater expo, a closed composting eco-toilet and a small kitchen. Wash and dishwater go through a greywater filter to an infiltration bed in the ground. The entire Meteoria center thus has zero emissions. Household water is obtained by purifying rainwater.
Visitors can get ideas here for their own sustainable, climate-smart facilities. Environmentally certified cleaning agents are used.
Many visitors come to Meteoria by their own car. This naturally constitutes an environmental burden. Cycling is a more climate-friendly mode of travel from the local region, especially as many could cycle just over ten kilometers from Vaasa city center, from where safe cycle paths lead out to Söderfjärden. To increase cycling visitors, the Meteoria section highlights climate-smart instructions and maps in collaboration with VisitVaasa, Vasek, and the City of Vaasa.
Since 2022, Meteoria has offered a discount on the entrance fee to those who arrive by bicycle or on foot - we want to encourage efforts for the environment and climate, as Visit Finland has granted the Meteoria the Sustainable Travel Finland certificate and status as a pioneer for sustainable development.
Many visitors have so far cycled or run/walked to Meteoria and received the promised discount.
An insect hotel was built and set up on the Meteoria building in the summer of 2022. Birdhouses and possible nesting sites for birds have previously existed on the center's buildings.
Environmental improvement measures are implemented according to available resources.
Sustainable development will be noted to a greater extent in Meteoria's marketing in the future, emphasizing the center's clear environmental profile to increase visitor numbers – with schools, in our country, and Västerbotten as prioritized target areas.
In all procurements, goods and services are tested based on sustainability criteria. This has been the starting point for the procurements for the expansion works 2022-23. For example, used cups and other equipment have been acquired for the kitchen in the crater exhibition.
Responsible for measures: Meteoria section within Sundom local heritage association
The goal to implement the sustainability program's climate-smart measures and to raise awareness among the center's staff and visitors about these and about the global goals for sustainable development.
Budget for sustainable development: integrated part of the center's operating and investment budget, as well as continued extensive volunteer efforts
Reporting annually in the activity report and in connection with new plans and measures.
Meteoria is managed by the Meteoria section of the Sundom Village Association in collaboration with the Vasa Andromeda astronomical association.
| Address | Marenvägen 294 65410 Sundom (Vaasa) |
|---|---|
| Phone | +358 50 5565199 |
| meteoria(at)sundom.fi |