New Earth logbook

Guest lecture by Yoeri Guepin was fascinating and inspiring. His knowledge on the land through his parents practice is immense. Relating to the land together as an attitude to sustainable farming is passionate and beautiful. Knowing and taking care of the land is exemplary to everyone.

https://www.gis.rotterdam.nl/gisweb2/default.aspx

Transposition-capable genetic elements in its DNA can trigger genome rearrangements and increase genetic diversity in maize varieties resulting in multi-colored corn coming from many heritages.

'It refers to untilled soil, a field that's left fallow'

'A marvel of non-design'

'These empty sites became opportunities for play, creativity and even scientific excursions'

'These zones became a field for pioneers'

'An exotic landscape in an otherwise strictly organized space'

This reminds me that nature always finds its way. It is stronger than us so rather than fighting against it, we should work with it.

Another example in which nature reclaims what's hers, Chernobyl.

Meet Simon, the Red Fox of the radioactive Red Forest

Tree growing on the 8th floor

Nature wins the battle against civilization

Pripyat is no longer the Ghost Town that it was. Now it is consumed by the forest and plants. Nature persistently takes it back.

Jonathan 'Jonk' Jimenez, curated a collection of images in which nature reclaims urban ruins. He traveled around the world looking for abandoned places where Mother Nature took over and photographed them to show the power of nature and the impact of passage of time.

Natura Urbana by Matthew Gandy

'Roaming in these places looking for grafitti, I realized I like the atmospheres I found there, the spectacle of passage of time: rust, decaying and peeling painted wall, broken windows, even nature taking back. This appears to me as infinite poetry.'

Train graveyard, Hungary

Nature as an architect

Nature reclaims its environment, it can grow and intervene anywhere it wants. Civilization can't even stop the power of Mother Nature.

In my group, on the theme 'Green Cities, we are partnering with the nonprofit 'Dakpark,' which is located at a former train graveyard. This location was changed into an incredible roof park that encompasses around 1.200 meters of land at a height of 9 meters, covering a mall.

Stichting Dakpark was founded in 2013 as a result of a citizen initiative. Throughout the various stages of the Dakpark's construction (planning, design, and construction), the inhabitants have remained a continuous and critical component in the process. When the park was opened, the residents were active in various ways across the park. As a result, numerous Dakparkclubs have sprung, supported by a budget and in collaboration with other partners.

I have mostly been apart of the group Bakkie Buurttuin, trying to get familiar with the land and the community. On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, they open the doors to their meeting room, and everyone is welcome to come in for a cup of coffee or tea. There are some baked products available, and there is always something to do in the garden. Working on removing weeds, planting seeds at the vegetable garden, caring for some of the land that has been neglected, and finally, discussing how to develop further.

How animals reclaimed Chernobyl:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaUNhqnpiOE

Designer and photographer Angelo Chiacchio embarked on a solo trip in 2018. He traveled the world for 300 days, taking in its most vulnerable landscapes and unique cultures.

In March 2018, he explored the Shengsi Islands.

Shengsi, a small archipelago, is a symbol of the area's quick industrialisation and urbanization. Shengsi is still home to thousands of local fisherman, but it is also where the fishing town of Houtouwan was abandoned.

As I reflect on this scenic beauty, I find myself constantly fighting the idea that human civilization is systematically destroying the greatest that the planet has to offer. We drain the land in exchange for a flourishing industry, but even after that, we are not satisfied. We always seek out new things to take from Mother Nature, yet we are unsatisfied.
Why do we constantly desire more?

During his 300-day travel Angelo visited the Ainu Culture, an endangered indigenous tribe from Japan who has recently been more appreciated because of their beliefs.

The Ainu’s belief that all creatures and objects have a spirit promotes an intimate relationship with the natural world.

In June 2018, he explored the small Ainu village of Nibutani in Hokkaido.

Ninbutani = 'The place where trees grow'

They developed a religion guided by observation of, and respect for, natural phenomena.

The Ainu continue to have a close connection to nature today. As their ancestors did, skilled artisans can still fabricate items from wood and bark such as clothes, knives, animal sculptures, and even boats.

Ainu traditions are based on the animist belief that all things in nature posess a kamuy, an inner spirit or god. When Ainu take bark from a tree, they show gratitude and respect towards that tree. The tree is then marked to allow it time to recover.

What do their beliefs teach us?

Reading that there are still people that respect nature that much is inspiring. The concept of recovery is particularly intriguing because we naturally associate humans with it while they do the same for Earth. The planet Earth, which sustains all of us during this crisis and lives and breathes with us, must definitely heal. Earth never gets a break; we continuously damage it and don't let her recover. While I believe that most of us are living ON Earth, they appear to be living WITH Earth. Perhaps it's time to stop suppressing Mother Nature's emotions and start listening to what she has to say.

In September 2018, he joined a group of hikers to the top of Mount Roraima.

Angelo Chiacchio explored the highest tepui plateau, Mount Roraima. It is known for its prehistoric ecology, which sustains plants and animals found nowhere else in the world.

A burgeoning tourism industry has exposed this ancient environment to unfamiliar elements. Access to the Monte Roraima National Park has historically been regulated by local indigenous Taurepan communities. But an influx of wealthy tourists, some of whom ascend Monte Roraima by helicopter, is creating tensions and harming the local environment.

Unless you have permission from local Taurepan and their assistance, access to this location is prohibited.

Taurepans insist that you walk in silence. You must step only on rocks that have already been used by previous hikers.

The fact that the Taurepan tribe has consistently protected this region for a long time is fascinating to me. They seem to not want to harm Mother Earth any more than we have as a civilisation, which is refreshing. They preserve the area's natural beauty and tranquility by staying on the routes that have already been created and walking quietly. We can undoubtedly learn from them in terms of how much respect they have for their surrounding nature.

In addition, it is disappointing to learn that many wealthy individuals have been acting contrary to the tribes beliefs, showing no respect for this place, and simply doing as they please because they are so privileged.

Finally, I want to question as to why Angelo himself went. He keeps writing about how the indigenous tribe does not want this area to gradually turn into a tourist destination. Why did he go there as a tourist in the first place, and how is he not an illustration of how modernization is progressively turning this site into a catastrophe?
I recognize that it has an artistic project goal, but what is more important, art or environmental preservation?

Some questions I had when we first got in contact with Dakpark:

How can we help?
What can I do?
Do they want my help?
How do they function?
Who manages this organization?
Will I get accepted?
Are they willing to help us as much as we want to help them?
Are they all volunteers?
What will our collaboration evolve into?

Helping them remove Jerusalem artichoke trees

When I first walked through this oasis I felt so at peace, it seems so far removed from the busy life of Rotterdam, yet it is at biking distance from everything I am used to in this city. I never knew Rotterdam had such beautiful nature in its center and it is such a shame hardly anyone knows of it. When volunteering I experienced 'Merak'.

this is exactly how it feels:

The community garden

Roof garden, Dakpark

Bakkie Buurttuin:
Tea and gardening

These volunteers continue to challenge nature. For example they left a piece of their garden untouched for a whole year to see what would happen. Nature became the architect of this piece of land. This piece experiences a world without civil intervention.

"This piece of land will be uncontrolled for a year."

It is a good way of listening to Mother Earth's needs and could help us take better care of her.

From Utopia to Dystopia:

Fordlândia

Ford was convinced that his ideas about labor and society would work no matter where they were tried. Determined to prove himself right, he turned his sights to securing a rubber empire while creating a utopia in Brazil’s backwoods.

Clearing the forest to make space for Fordlândia

Not only did they destruct the forest, the ignorant Blakeley (an exhibitionist) had planted the trees too close together, encouraging huge populations of parasites and pests to infest the crops and ruin the rubber.

The employees were expecting to receive $5 a day and live in their elevated traditional dwellings INSTEAD they received $0.35 per day and got placed into American-style homes that did not fit to their culture at all. 'Living the American dream'

They were forced to eat, wear, live unfamiliarly

In 1930 the workers had had enough, exploding in fury at the demanding and condescending treatment, Fordlândia’s workforce launched into a full-scale revolt, cutting the telephone lines, chasing away the management, and only dispersing when the army intervened.

The American-style town that Henry Ford dreamed would house 10,000 workers is now home to about 2,000 people, many of them squatters. The blank slate Ford imagined he would find in Brazil turned out to be inhabited by people with a robust culture of their own who chafed under the midwestern customs and rules imposed on them.

Fordlândia today, full of reclaimed nature

Ford’s failed experiment later served as a model for modern dystopian tales.

Observing how people of power may steer such programs is quite disturbing. Leaving the property in poor shape and the workers as well. I'm delighted to learn that nature also raised its voice and returned what is rightfully hers, in addition to the workers. We ought to be more considerate of other people and refrain from forcing our beliefs on others, especially not in such oppressive and dominant ways. After all the harm they did, it is a comfort to learn that nature has taken over this land once more. Fortunately, nature is resilient, as this example once again demonstrates.

Ford turned to the Amazon rainforest to construct a rubber plantation that would serve as his personal supply of the material.

The homes resembled the Midwestern abodes back in the US that Ford was accustomed to.

The idea was to not only produce a stockpile of rubber for manufacturing Ford's vehicles, but cultivate Ford's idea of the perfect American society based on his morals and ideology.

Henry Ford offered his workers a structured life with many amenities and resources such as:

A hospital with free medical care

A transportation system

First time for the indigenous to have access to education

At first glance it all looks like a successful utopia in the center of the Amazon, yet there were many restrictions, a strict set of rules and labor practices they had to follow:

They followed a meatless diet, modeled after Ford's eating habits.

They were forced to attend poetry readings and English-language-only singing sessions.

Alcohol and prostitution were forbidden.

These workers had no freedom.

Ford hoped that Brazilians working in the settlement would adhere to every one of the societal expectations he set.

The workers clashed culturally with Ford's American vision of idealism.

Could we consider nature having horror vacui?
Nature claims all space that is empty.
Is it intrusive or fascinating?

Jóhann Jóhannsson released an album influenced by the failure of Henry Ford's rubber plantation in the Amazon.

Artist statement:

'One of the two main threads running through it is this idea of failed utopia, as represented by the "Fordlândia" title – the story of the rubber plantation Henry Ford established in the Amazon in 1920s, and his dreams of creating an idealized American town in the middle of the jungle complete with white picket fences, hamburgers and alcohol prohibition. The project – started because of the high price Ford had to pay for the rubber necessary for his cars' tyres – failed, of course, as the indigenous workers soon rioted against the alien conditions.'

It's remarkable to me how he used his album to transform this dystopia into something beautiful. It does not romanticize the situation, but he translated it in such a manner that it communicates a strong message through sound.

Track list:

1."Fordlândia" – 13:42
2."Melodia (i)" – 1:56
3."The Rocket Builder (Lo Pan!)" – 6:24
4."Melodia (ii)" – 1:48
5."Fordlandia – Aerial View" – 4:32
6."Melodia (iii)" – 3:12
7."Chimaerica" – 3:22
8."Melodia (iv)" – 2:45
9."The Great God Pan Is Dead" – 4:55
10."Melodia (Guidelines for a Space Propulsion Device Based on Heim's Quantum Theory)" – 9:03
11."How We Left Fordlandia" – 15:24

Digital download bonus track
12."Abandoned Locomotive Overgrown by Luxuriant Vegetation" – 5:16

Emily St. John Mandels, Station Eleven is a complex, eerie novel about the years before and after a pandemic that eliminates most of humanity.

-> This one sounds like fight and freedom to me.

Summary:
A devastating flu pandemic has swept the world. Spread over multiple timelines, the stories of various survivors are followed. These people are trying to build a new world in a post-apocalyptic landscape, and get their own lives back on track, after having lost everything before.

This story is very intriguing as it feels close to what we recently experienced with the covid-pandemic. Although of course we didn't experience the post-apocalyptic part. By the author writing about the absence of what we take for granted it becomes educational and strong. It makes you wonder what would happen if this were to really be the case and how nature would bloom even more. The story is out of the ordinary and makes me feel so appreciative of what I have and what our world offers us.

A more contemporary realistic example of nature blooming when civilization stops moving: Covid pandemic

The fragile ecosystem of Venice comes back to life after becoming a tourist-free city during the pandemic

Animals have returned

Wild boar roaming the streets of Bergamo, Italy

They're not intimidated by the city anymore

Before the outbreak of the coronavirus, the 120 strong army of goats where usually more commonly spotted munching on the grasslands of the Great Orme.
However, since the lockdown they have now become a common sight in Llandudno.

taking full advantage of the quiet streets

While the newly empowered wildlife of Western cities gives delight in these dark times and serves as a welcome reminder of nature's resilience, a brief economic downturn will not preserve the world's biodiversity. To do this, we must guarantee that conservation is prioritized in the post-pandemic world.

Julia Watsons book Lo-TEK is a design movement building on indigenous philosophy and vernacular infrastructure to generate sustainable, resilient, nature-based technology. This book explores millennia-old human ingenuity on how to live in symbiosis with nature.

'High-tech solutions are definitely going to help us solve these problems, but in our rush towards the future, we tend to forget about the past.'

'We can seed creativity in crisis.'

'We have thousands of years of ancient knowledge, that we just need to listen to. Allow it to expand our thinking about designing symbiotically with nature. By listening, we will only become wiser and ready for those 21-century challenges that we know will endanger our people and our planet.'

Khasi people from India build living root bridges

The Ma'dān floating villages from Iraq build man-made islands from reed that grows around them

Her theories and research are quite insightful. It gives me hope for the future knowing that humanity has been developing answers to a symbiotic relationship with nature for millennia. Now is the moment to begin incorporating these traditional philosophies and techniques, which will undoubtedly improve our relationship with Mother Nature.