And the thirteenth month has begun. The harp of the gods has been tuned. The trees are quiet. The Twelve Silent Nights is an ‘in-between period’, the ‘time that does not exist’ in the lunar […]
Many ethnic Estonians believe in “souls of trees”
This week I got to know the work of religious study scholars from Scandinavia and the Baltic countries, after I talked with a scholar from Lithuania, who has been rooting in Belgium for a long […]
Learning more about the effects of a nature immersion with the help of children’s drawings before and after a forest bath
Some weeks ago, just before the second lockdown in Belgium, I had the honor to guide a forest bath to 34 Flemish children in a nearby village. They were age 10-11. I know one of […]
[Only in Dutch] my new book: “DE WITTE DROOM”
Toen ik in 2013 Pakistan bezocht, leerde ik dat dit land meer gezichten heeft dan de westerse media mij deed geloven. In een restaurant in Lahore gaf ik mezelf een denkoefening: “hoe krijg je een […]
Reading Landscapes, Remembering Local History
Hallo iedereen! I sent you warm autumn greetings from Flanders. This week I noticed a lot of squirrels collecting beech nuts for winter and I found a lot of fly agarics on the fairytale forest […]
two YEARs OF WOOD WIDE WEB STORIES
Currently I am preparing my first forest bath of the autumn. I plan a series of 7 weekly forest baths, with a retelling of a folkstory or fairytale from my region. It reminds me that […]
When the beech loses her throne – about redesigning our cultural landscapes
The climate is changing. Faster than we had hoped. In August, many majestic beeches – the queens of the Germanic forests – dropped their leaves because they were under drought stress. The king of the […]
Sacred Garden trees in Norway, part 2 –
In spring 2019, I was doing a bit of research about trees in Norway. I found an interesting paper by Douglas Forell Hulmes about “sacred trees of Norway and Sweden: a #friluftsliv quest”. This professor environmental education […]
‘Bergtatt’ – my new favourite Norwegian word
Bergtatt: the word itself is captivating, enchanting and encompassing the images I have from Norwegian folklore. I have not written for a long time. I had some good reasons: finishing PhD (not there yet) and […]
Rapunzel’s forest tale: a story of healing
It has been a month ago that I wrote a blog. The last blog was about my grandmother’s death and how I found solace and inspiration through the willow in our garden: My grandmother was a […]
