I recently watched ALUNA - a documentary about aboriginal people of South America who believe it is their prime task to keep the world safe, clean and sustainable. Throughout the documentary we follow their journey of securing some important spots around a coastal area with a golden thread. This is to remind the 'little brother' (that is the developed world) of how everything is connected and to break the thread means to break the low of nature. 

                                                                       

Acid Rains

On the Sudetes mountain range of south-western Poland there is a forest full of dead trees. It has been affected by years of highly acidic rain showers. This is mainly the consequence of the intensity mine works going on the other side of the border, in Czech. Those works - that have also been very prominent in the 20th century on Polish lands - have a major impact on the atmosphere by releasing large amounts of sulphur which then in combination with nitric acid falls down with rain and erodes the trees as well as soil. Ultimately it leaves balding patches across the forests with no options of re-growth as the soil's acidic levels increase as well and it becomes incapable of birthing any more plant life. 

Check out this TED TALK with Suzanne Simrad who proves that trees can share information. 

""A forest is much more than what you see," says ecologist Suzanne Simard. 

Her 30 years of research in Canadian forests have led to an astounding discovery — trees talk, 

often and over vast distances. Learn more about the harmonious 

yet complicated social lives of trees and prepare to see the natural world with new eyes."

https://www.ted.com/talks/suzanne_simard_how_trees_talk_to_each_other?language=en

\ Białowieża Forest (Puszcza Białowieska) is now Europe's last primeval forest. It is located in the East of Poland, across around 3 000 square kilometers and is a National Park. The UNESCO heritage site is the home of 800 bison, the heaviest land animal in Europe. / 

Growing up in Poland I was aware of this particular forest colony,  but I didn't realise it was the last of its kind in Europe. 

Feeling connected with the subject I would like to focus more on Polish forests and forestry around in those parts.  

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Last month I flew to Poland and spent two weeks in an area that was mainly just forest land and lakes. The greenery over there is very different to the British flora and I think it's very interesting to see those differences. Pine woods are very common in Poland and so far they are my favourite - they carry a lot of nostalgia but also the smell is much more interesting than in a 'normal' leaf wood. 

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Much to my surprise Norway, against everything article I've read so far, is not actually the FIRST country to commit to zero deforestation. It was beat to it by the Kingdom of Bhutan back in 2009. 

This promise has recently resurfaced after it was so beautifully ignored the first time round. 

Bhutan is a tiny democratic nation snuggled in between two giants that are China and India. With a population of less than 700 000 what makes this kingdom prosper environmentally is their constitution.  It states that the country's total forest cover percentage should never go under 60% - that is the absolute minimum. At the moment 72% of the country's land is under natural forest cover. This makes Bhutan one of the world's last biodiversity hotspots and is also the ultimate recipe for the country's carbon neutral status. 

check out the ted talk to find out more about this little magical place: 

https://www.ted.com/talks/tshering_tobgay_this_country_isn_t_just_carbon_neutral_it_s_carbon_negative 

It's time to get back to working on summer projects and things. 

Had a little start on 'sounds of the city' before I left for Poland but now I think I'd like to focus mainly on creating work for the 'Extinction or Survival' practice brief. It's probably because I've been spending a lot of time in a forest over the few weeks in Poland and I've reconnected with the nature-loving part of me and would like to keep it that way. Who knows though might continue doing two projects :)