Pihlajasaari

This guide to Pihlajasaari in Helsinki starts with a sound you can't hear: several species of bats hunting over the western island's rock gorge after dark. It traces how the island shifted from private summer villas built by wealthy Helsinki families in the 1880s to a public beach the city opened to everyone in 1929. Along the way it follows the protected nature reserve that grew up around the villas, its bog plants and nesting seabirds, and the seasonal rules that keep parts of the shoreline undisturbed each spring.