Eija Hagelberg

Eija Hagelberg has been at BSAG since 2009. She started out managing the JÄRKI project and has recently been a project director for regenerative agriculture.

Eija currently spends most of her time on the Carbon Action platform’s farmer and research collaboration and as the agriculture team leader.

“We’ve taken a step forward from sustainable agriculture: these days, we’re increasingly talking about regenerative agriculture, which aims to make agricultural ecosystems more functional. It revolves around regenerative soil management. I find this work very meaningful, as it benefits both the environment and farmers.”

Eija is an active networker and likes to bring different parties together. She seeks to influence agricultural policy (through, for example, preparatory work for CAP) and also engages in international collaboration. However, working directly with farmers is what she finds most rewarding. Eija is a huge supporter of sustainable food production.

“Food production should be ecologically, economically and socially sustainable. We must be able to integrate water protection, the promotion of biodiversity and the mitigation of climate change into routine activities on farms in a meaningful way. They cannot be separated from it, that is, from food production. We aim to make it as easy as possible for farmers to combine them.”

Eija graduated from the University of Helsinki with a degree in physical geography. She is currently enrolled at the University of Helsinki as a postgraduate student in the field of Agroecology, but her full-time job has been getting in the way of her doctoral studies. Her thesis will examine farmers’ motivation and fact-finding in the field of soil management.

In the summer, she spends her free time in the garden and tending her summer cows. Exercise and reading are things she enjoys all year round. She would like to visit her favourite places – the Archipelago Sea and Lapland – more often.

PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND

2009– Baltic Sea Action Group, Project Director and Project Manager

2008– Tmi Eija Hagelberg, consulting and advice for farmers; Municipality of Suomusjärvi: Project Coordinator for the Aneriojärvi Nature Path Leader project

2005–2007 Southwest Finland Regional Environmental Centre, Project Coordinator for the Interreg project “Reed bed strategy in Finland and Estonia”

2003–2005 City of Salo, Environmental Planner in two Life projects

2000–2002 Finnish Association for Nature Conservation – Southwest Finland District, Project Manager for a traditional landscape management project

1995–1999 Provincial Museum of Turku, researcher in landscape history

POSITIONS OF TRUST INCLUDE

Cultural Landscapes Association, Treasurer and Member of the Board

QUALIFICATIONS

M.Sc, University of Helsinki, 1999. Major in physical geography, minors in ecological botany, landscape architecture and environmental science, including studies in development research.