What does Finland know about happiness?

On the outskirts of Helsinki, Anna Nyman, a forager, biologist and herbalist, walks me around the island of Lammassaari, a nature reserve slowly waking up from its winter slumber.

- MATT CHARLTON

The conversation is in full flow, but every so often she suddenly diverges from the duckboard path, jumping into the undergrowth as she happens upon a sapling, berry or fallen fern leaf that she can forage in order to brew us tea later.

This is not a niche hobby in this part of the world; it's a way of life. The Finnish relationship with nature is woven into their national mindset, where foraging baskets are passed down through generations, a "mushroom book" is almost standard issue, and a cold day of foraging-in a country where citizens have the right to freely roam most of the land-usually ends in a sauna, and probably a beer.

All of this only partly explains why Finland has been named by the World Happiness Report as the happiest country in the world for the seventh year running, but it frames the Finnish way of life pretty succinctly.

It's about a symbiosis with nature, a humbling understanding that the individual is part of a wider organism. That understanding translates into Finnish society: a sense of duty, and a trust between neighbours, communities and the establishment.