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 […]
MY grandmother was a willow woman
This weekend, my grandmother died. Early March, I saw her for the last time, to celebrate her 86th birthday. She was already dying a bit for some years, because she suffered dementia and Parkinson. Every […]
Let’s address whiteness in the outdoors
The International Day for Biological Diversity is a United Nations–sanctioned international day for the promotion of biodiversity issues. It is currently held on May 22. This year’s theme is “our solutions are in nature”. However, […]
Finding freedom in the forests and a Spanish Chestnut tree story
Forests can hide many secrets, can be a double edged sword for all human beings and animals. A place where you can be born, a place where you can die, a place where you can […]
Branching out: A Tree Pageant
Each year, the Belgian Tree of the Year is elected. This is not necessarily the most beautiful or oldest tree, but it is a tree with a special story. Actually ‘pageant’ might not be the […]
It’s VE day. Let’s talk about Nazis and the environment
On 8 May 2020 we, in Europe, celebrate 75 years of victory over fascism. Victory in Europe Day, generally known as VE Day or V-E Day, is a day celebrating the formal acceptance by the […]
A BLANKET OF Peace and Quiet
Good morning my friends, You’ve all heard me waxing rhapsodic about the resultant clear blue skies and quiet from the lack of jets and airplanes in the sky. I had no idea how much ambient […]
