Canadian documentary filmmaker Murray Wilson travelled to Joensuu to film his new documentary, Smoke Season, and interview Finnish forestry experts. Having witnessed devastating wildfires in his home region, Wilson wants to explore what Canada could learn from Finnish forest management and wildfire prevention. The Forest Joensuu network helped organise his visit.
Canadian forester Murray Wilson has a deeply personal reason for making a documentary about wildfire prevention. Last summer, wildfires came dangerously close to home when approximately 230 houses were destroyed in his home region of Vernon, British Columbia.
“Wildfires are becoming the main form of forest management in Canada,” Wilson says.
Wildfires are a growing problem in British Columbia. Since 2017, fires have destroyed an average of more than 900,000 hectares of forest annually.
In Finland, meanwhile, less than 500 hectares of forest are affected by wildfires each year. Wilson wanted to find out how Finnish forests are managed and what Canada could learn from Finnish practices.
Caption: Murray Wilson spent his career working as a forester.
Travelling to Finland had been a long-standing dream for Wilson.
“Finland is internationally recognised for its forest management practices and the good results they produce,” Wilson says.
“It is interesting to learn how Finnish forests are managed and what factors contribute to the low incidence of wildfires.”
The devastating wildfires in his home region have strengthened Wilson's belief that wildfire management should focus more on prevention rather than simply responding to fires once they break out.
This idea also inspired his first documentary, BC is Burning, which aimed to spark discussion about forest management and wildfire prevention in British Columbia.
"Finland shows what's possible"
Wilson is continuing this work with his new documentary, Smoke Season. The film examines wildfires, their impacts and the potential to prevent them through different forest management practices.
The documentary features perspectives from forest management experts, forest ecologists, fire professionals and medical doctors, among others. Its aim is to examine the impacts of wildfires from multiple angles and highlight solutions that could also benefit other parts of the world.
During his visit to Joensuu, Wilson wanted to see first-hand how Finnish forest management and related solutions work in practice.
Caption: Visiting Savon Voima power plant in Joensuu Circular Park.
He was particularly interested in the use of forest biomass for energy production. Visits to both large and smaller heating plants provided concrete examples of how forest-based materials can be used to produce heat for local communities.
“Finland shows what is possible. There is enormous potential in using forest biomass to heat communities,” Wilson says.
Wilson sees opportunities in Finnish practices that could also be applied in Canada. He hopes the Finland segment of Smoke Season will introduce Finnish solutions and forestry expertise to a wider international audience.
Through the documentary, viewers will gain insight into what active forest management looks like in Finland and the solutions developed for the sustainable use of forests.
Filming and interviews took place across North Karelia, including Kontiolahti, Polvijärvi, Koli, Nurmes and Lieksa, as well as Rautavaara in neighbouring North Savo. Filming locations included forest management and harvesting sites, timber terminals and heating plants.
Wilson estimates that he travelled 600 kilometres along Finnish roads and was impressed by what he saw.
“Wherever we drove, we saw forests at different stages of management. You don't see that in Canada,” Wilson says.
Funding proved to be the biggest challenge for Wilson's first documentary, BC is Burning. The film was eventually completed with donations from more than 50 supporters. His new documentary is being funded by a forestry investment fund in Alberta, which Wilson says has made the production process smoother.
North Karelia's forestry expertise attracts international visitors
Wilson's filming trip was organised with the support of the Forest Joensuu network and Ville Kortelainen, Development Manager at Business Joensuu.
With the help of local partners, Wilson was able to explore Finnish forestry solutions, meet industry experts and arrange filming for his documentary.
Joensuu is known for its strong forestry expertise, which continues to attract international visitors to the region. According to Kortelainen, approximately 300 international forestry professionals representing more than 100 organisations have visited the Joensuu region over the past two years.
Caption: A delegation of Canadian forestry professionals observing timber harvesting operations in Kontiolahti in June 2026.
Business Joensuu organises tailored programmes for international visitors, connecting them with regional companies, research organisations and forestry experts.
Organising international visits is part of the EU-funded Forest Joensuu innovation ecosystem, which aims to strengthen international cooperation in the forestry sector and create new business opportunities.
Other funding partners in the Innokaupunki Joensuu 4 project include the Regional Council of North Karelia, the City of Joensuu and Business Joensuu.
Main image caption: Murray Wilson (left) interviewed Lauri Sikanen, Principal Scientist at the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), about Finnish forest management.
Read more about the Joensuu region's forest bioeconomy innovation network: Forest Joensuu