Contribution short abstract:

I examine the ways in which a protected mire threatened by a mining project, the local hikers, the mire's species, and the infrastructure of the protected area come together in practices of care. What is the care directed at a protected area and vice versa, and what are its practices?

Contribution long abstract:

Protected areas are considered to require human care, which manifests in practices such as decisions to protect these areas, but also in duckboards that guide hikers along designated paths, thus preventing the erosion of terrain. Caring for nature also includes other infrastructure that directs human activity, such as hiking facilities and hiking guidance, which is shared on social media. At the same time, protected areas offer recreation: "care of the self".

The aim is to unwrite interspecies care—or to examine what kind of care happens in the assemblages considering humans and nature conservation areas. Protected areas are placed under institutional power as objects of care, which involves both untouchability and subjection to management and restrictions. In considering the concept of care, we draw on the notion of assemblage (Deleuze & Guattari; Tsing 2015): we therefore ask what forms of care emerge within these assemblages, which include both human and non-human actors or participants. How is awareness of interdependence reflected in the visual imagery of social media (e.g., Instagram) and its associated hashtags? What forms of care can be interpreted based on this material?

The empirical analysis is based on materials collected in the DigiFREN project (2023–2024), which studies the digital aestheticization of fragile natural environments. The materials include walking interviews and observational data (audio recordings, videos, and photographs), and Instagram images concerning two mires in FInland, Patvinsuo and Viiankiaapa. The contribution is based on a joint article with Juhana Venäläinen and Kirsi Laurén (sent).