We wish to involve Koster visitors in the long-term sustainably development of the islands!
Welcome to the Koster Islands webpage of Greenmapper Friends. It is a co-experiment by several key actors: Kosternämnden, The Koster Islands school, Kosterhavets nationalpark, University West Sweden and the University of Groningen. The actors also take part in an EU-funded Interreg North Sea project: FREIIA. The project, among other things, works on finding new ways of how sustainable tourism can be further developed.
The Koster Islands are one of Sweden’s most beautiful and ecologically valuable archipelagos It attracts tens of thousands of visitors throughout most of the year and is part of the Kosterhavet national park, established in 2009. The Koster Islands is a fantastic place to visit, located at the outer edge of the Swedish west coast. Around 300 people live year-round on the two main islands, where they strive to preserve and develop social, economic, and environmental sustainability in various ways. A key issue is the long-term sustainability of the community, a challenge for many rural areas.
With an ageing population, maintaining a vibrant year-round community is increasingly difficult due to limited availability of services such as primary education, affordable housing, and healthcare. To ensure the long-term availability of these services, we are creating an experiment with a dedicated donation fund (pledge) to attract support from visitors for ensuring a sustainable local community life on the Koster Islands. The first pledge, or crowdfunding project, is for the Koster Island school (Kosteröarnas Skola), one of the essential services that make year-round living possible for young families, that are the future of sustaining year-round living on the islands.
The Koster Islands are very actively looking to ensure that young families that make up the next generation of islanders are retained and attracted to move to Koster. Many local volunteers are working to create affordable rental housing for young people and maintaining the school on the Koster Islands.
The islanders would love to see a shift in the population structure, welcoming new families who can contribute to the small community and enjoy the calmer lifestyle that is on offer. Perhaps surprisingly, there are many jobs available on the islands in different sectors: healthcare, construction industry, remote jobs in various sectors, and the National Park service. Maybe moving to the Koster Islands could be something for you and your family? Or perhaps you know someone that would like the opportunity to live in an inspiring and scenic environment?
A key issue for the social sustainability of the community on Koster Islands is therefore to keep the school open and to develop it for the next generation of children. We would be very grateful if you would consider participating in a crowdfunding effort for the school—either through a one-time donation or, even better, by becoming a supporting member of the Koster Islands School nonprofit association.
PARTICIPATE AND WIN AN OVERNIGHT STAY FOR TWO!
Please fill out the survey and pledge a donation latest September 30th 2025, to have a chance to win a “Kläpphagen package”: dinner, one night stay and breakfast for two.
What is Koster-Greenmapper Project?
The Koster-GreenMapper Project is based on an online scientific research web-platform called Greenmapper. Greenmapper explores new ways of connecting people to the nature-related places and landscapes that they love, through a new way of systematic data gathering. The collected data serves to support better nature and tourism policy and management, but also how tourists actively can help to ensure that their favourite places of natural beauty can survive as year-round communities.
You will receive more information on the Koster school after you have filled in the Greenmapper survey.
This is being done by three scientific phases:
(1) A survey that gathers public opinions towards Supporting the Koster School through Sustainable Tourism
(2) Voluntary pledge funding about keeping Koster alive: community-supported education for year-round living
(3) Voluntary online roundtable meeting with and to discuss the results.
How can I participate in the project?
Step 1: Create an account
Press the button below this page. Register and participate in the project with a GreenMapper “friend/fan” account!
To start participating, you first mark on a map where you live. For privacy, you don’t mark your exact address, but approximately where you live. You can watch the short animation video to explain how this works.
>> Click and see how to place a home marker <<
Step 2: Participate in the survey of more year-round visitors on Koster
There you will find the survey. This discussion runs via voting on statements (‘Agree’, ‘Disagree’ and ‘Unsure/Pass’). You can also add new statements if you have ideas that have not yet been voiced, and then the community will vote on these too.
Ultimately, we visualise what everyone agrees on and what they don’t, and whether there are different groups. We will keep you informed of the results.
Step 3: Participate in the virtual pledge funding
To secure Kosteröarnas Skola as an educational hub that attracts and enables families to live on Koster year-round, thus building links between school education and responsible tourism. Without a pre-school and a school on Koster, children must travel by boat to the mainland. For small children this means adding more than an hour in the morning and at night travel-time.
We invite you to participate in a virtual pledge funding for Kosteröarnas Skola, and please share the greenmapper with your family, friends and neighbours.
The goal of this virtual funding is to achieve 250,000 SEK (around 25,000 EUR). The funding will only be used to secure the continued operation of Kosteröarnas Skola, support staffing and infrastructure needs, and integrate the school’s role in sustainable community development and responsible tourism.
As a participant, please let us know if and how much you want to donate and what your opinions are. Once launched, annual financial and social impact reports will be published transparently via the school’s website.
Step 4: Become a ‘citizen scientist’ and participate in an online roundtable meeting
Once our community reaches enough friends, we will randomly select 10-20 participants for an online roundtable meeting, where fans, Koster partner organisations, and experts will discuss in depth the options for future action.
Disclaimer!
We feel we should give a warning! Yes, Greenmapper is a user-friendly web app designed for the public. Still, it remains scientific software, with very limited funding and a very small technical support team. When compared to a simple written survey, Greenmapper stands out as a visually appealing and interactive tool. When compared to big tech applications, you may still find it far less fluent and user-friendly. Bear with us and our small team. Our means are limited, but our efforts, and yours (!), are noble.