Oulu Waste Management hired a crow recently – no joke. The crow, however, is actually local student Elina Saloranta, who will begin her career as the city’s recycling mascot, Oiva Roina, when she has her first gig at a day care center in Simo next week.
This surely is the first time the city has ever found itself with a crow on its payroll.
Oulu Waste Management decided to hire Saloranta when Lea Ansamaa, who had previously acted the role of Oiva Roina in her spare time, informed the bureau that she was too busy this spring to perform the mascot’s duties.
Oiva Roina’s official duties include visiting daycare centers around the greater Oulu area to educate children about recycling and give hands-on demonstrations about the proper way to sort recyclables, and all of this while donning the official work uniform: a giant crow suit.
“I watched Lea perform as Oiva Roina last week, just to get a feel for how to do it. The Waste Management folks said I can change the show a bit if I want. But Lea’s version looked pretty good, so maybe I’ll just wait and see how it goes the first time around and then decide whether I’d like to add a few touches of my own. I’ll also have to read up a bit about recycling and garbage,” says Saloranta.
On Friday, she got to try out the crow costume for the first time.
“It was pretty hot in there. I don’t think I’ll be able to do too many gigs a day when the hotter weather comes. It’s a little like having a trekkers pack on your back,” describes Saloranta.
“The folks at the Oulu Sanitation assured me that it’s possible to drive a car with the suit on, even though the tail feather section is pretty hefty.”
”I guess it takes some getting used to,” she laughs.
