Participate in the Student Gardener competition

Do you love the feel of fresh soil in your hands? Are colorful flower plantings your passion or are you perhaps obsessed with edible plants like herbs? If you nodded to these questions, you might be the Student Gardener of 2023 we’re looking for!

This summer, we are again looking for a student gardener of the year and all kinds of plantings are suitable for participation. Your garden can be, for example, an herb box on the windowsill, summer flowers on the balcony or a raised bed in the backyard. Send us a photo of your plantings by 25th of August and you can win a garden supply package or even a €200 gift card to a garden store!

We will raffle garden supply packages among the local participants, and the winner of the national competition, Finland’s Student Gardener 2023, will be rewarded with a gift card to a garden store.

Take 1-2 photos of your plantings and send them to us on Instagram via DM. Two garden tool sets (value approx. €47) will be drawn amongst the participants, who have sent their photos by 25th of August.

In addition to Hoas, student gardeners are awarded in student towns around Finland (check #opiskelijapuutarhurit2023). On top of that, the Finnish Student Gardener 2023 will be selected from among all national participants and will be awarded a €200 gift card to a garden store. The winner of the gift card, i.e. Finland’s Student Gardener 2023, will be announced at the end of August.

Foundation for Student Housing in the Helsinki Region sr (later Hoas or Organizer)
Pohjoinen Rautatiekatu 29, P.O. Box 799, 00101 Helsinki
(09) 5499 00

In the Student gardener 2023 competition participants take 1-2 photos of their plantings and deliver them to Hoas. Hoas can publis these photos in their Instagram account. Winners will be chosen by drawing lots within the participants.

The contest is open to persons that are 18 years old or older.

To participate in the competition, one has to send 1-2 photos of their plantings to @hoas_fi via Instagram DM.

By participating the competition, the participants give Hoas permission to post their photos in Hoas’ Instagram account @hoas_fi.

All partcipants will automatically be in the national competition, too. The national competition is about finding the Student Gardener of Finland 2023. The winner of the national competition will be chosen by Aada Taipale, university teacher for landscape architecture, and will be announced by the end of August. For the national competition Hoas will only submit the photos to the judge, not any other information of the participants.

The submission period is from 7th of August to 25th of August 2023.

All participants that have participated according to the rules will have an opportunity to win one of two gardening tool sets (value 47 €) in a prize lottery. If the prize is not available at the end of the competition, it will be replaced by a similar product.

Organizer chooses winners by drawing lots within all participants on 28th of August 2023.

Winners will be contacted personally through Instagram Direct and prizes will be delivered by mail. Prizes will be delivered only to home addresses in Finland. In addition to the home address, winners must tell their name.

If a winner cannot be reached in two weeks after announcing the winner, a new winner can be chosen. An unused prize is not replaced, and it cannot be exchanged into cash.

Winners will be announced in Hoas’s Instagram account after the competition. The winners’ first names or other nickname can be published on Hoas’s Instagram account, internet page or or other Medias without separate consent. This applies to the national competition, too.

All entrants must abide by these terms and conditions. Possible ambiguities concerning applying and interpreting the terms and conditions will be resolved by the Organizer. The Organizer reserves the right to changes in the terms and conditions. The Organizer has the right to dismiss entries that are against rules or inappropriate in other ways.

The winner of the prize releases the Organizer from any responsibilities caused or claimed to be caused by participating in this competition or by receiving the prize. The winner of the prize also releases the Organizer from all responsibilities pertaining to the future use of the prize or malfunctions appearing in it, as well as all responsibilities relating to injury or damage caused or claimed to be caused by participating in this competition, or by redeeming or using the prize. This release from responsibility does not, however, weaken the consumer rights granted by the Consumer Protection Act. The responsibilities of the Organizer towards the participants does not exceed the value or quantity of the prize mentioned in these rules.

This competition is not in any way sponsored, endorsed or administered by Instagram. The competition has nothing to do with Meta.

By participating all participants release Instagram of any responsibility related to the competition.

The Foundation for Student Housing in the Helsinki Region sr
Pohjoinen Rautatiekatu 29
PL 799
00101 HELSINKI

Contact person in matters regarding the register:

The Foundation for Student Housing in the Helsinki Region sr (Hoas)
Saara Saksanen
Pohjoinen Rautatiekatu 29
PL 799
00101 HELSINKI

The data obtained in connection with the competition is used for selecting winners, delivering prizes, compiling statistics, and announcing the winner.

The register contains at its most the following data:

The aforementioned data is collected when contacting the winners of the competition.

Data is not disclosed outside of The Foundation for Student Housing in the Helsinki Region and third parties working for it in administering or developing the service, or collaborating with it. Data is not transferred or given outside EU or ETA.

The data system and files of the register administrator are secured with technical security methods normally in use in business.

All subjects to the data have a right to review the data concerning oneself and a right to request the rectification of erroneous information. The data subject may exercise their rights by presenting a request about the rights to Hoas in writing. Exercising these rights requires the data subject to prove their identity.