The John Nurminen Foundation

The John Nurminen Foundation was founded in 1992, after Juha Nurminen’s initiative, to safeguard the cultural heritage of Finnish seafaring and maritime history. The cultural activities of the Foundation focus on the history of seafaring, exploration and cartography, and on disseminating information on these topics to the general public. We publish non-fiction on these themes, and lend items from our collection to exhibitions.

In 2004, with the backing of the initial capital donated by Juha Nurminen, the Foundation expanded its operations to include environmental protection. At this time, the Foundation established its second operational branch, the Clean Baltic Sea projects. The Foundation’s Clean Baltic Sea projects improve the status of the Baltic Sea with concrete measures that reduce the nutrient load and environmental risks faced by the sea. In 2005 – 2015, the Foundation has launched approximately 25 Clean Baltic Sea projects in northwestern Russia, Poland, the Baltic countries, and Belarus.

In 2005 – 2015, the Foundation has launched approximately 25 Clean Baltic Sea projects in northwestern Russia, Poland, the Baltic countries, and Belarus. 17 of the projects have been finalised, and as a result, the annual phosphorus load of the sea has been reduced by more than 2,000 tonnes. We continue to curb the nutrient load of the sea through the projects launched in 2015: Archipelago Sea Local Fishing, NutriTrade, and BEST. The Clean Baltic Sea projects are financed with private donations and public funding.