Story Info
Story Info
Earth Listening Group Members of the Deep Adaptation Forum
wounded places in several countries in USA, UK, Germany, Lebanon, and Australia
2023
Type of Wounded Place
Story & Experience
- Becky Orf, Oak Savannah, outside of Silverton, Oregon, USA
I went to a surviving oak savannah outside of Silverton, Oregon, that has some of the oldest white oaks left in Oregon (100+ years old). At one time this oak savannah covered Oregon’s Willamette Valley, but most were cut down to clear land for agriculture and building. Since I was last there, a severe ice storm had struck the area, resulting in many broken branches and toppled trees, which caused a lot of grief. But then, I also noticed one tree that had been broken off about 40’ up from the ground—no limbs were remaining. But I noticed small leaves beginning to sprout along the remaining trunk and broken limbs of the tree. I was reminded of the changing, as well as the resilience, of nature. I made a small Rad Joy bird out of what I found there. - Emma Mary Gathergood, The River Severn, just south of the city of Worcester, UK. As l arrived l saw someone had beaten me to it, and as there was only apparently one sitting space l wasn’t sure whether to stay. This burly young fisherman covered in tattoos and missing a tooth saw me with my stick and said that l should be careful as it was very slippery. I changed my mind on discovering a second place slightly higher up and over to the left of where he was and asked if he minded if l got my chair and sat there for a while. He was most polite and amenable so l did. As l sat staring at the polluted sad river l saw a butterfly, then a swan flew over making a loud noise, song birds were everywhere and l saw two long tailed tits. When l asked the river what it wanted me to know, it said it was surprised at my question because no one ever actually talked to it. Yes they came and used it. Power boats, houseboats and small pleasure boats came past, but the folks on board were speaking to each other not to the river. It really appreciated me taking the time to ask it how it felt, which included brown, dirty, poisoned, and sad. I agreed to visit again and left it a tiny posy of herbs including lavender, sage and mint collected lovingly from my garden earlier.
- Ramey Rieger, field of strawberries near Herold, Germany: This a field of strawberries cultivated by our local conventional farmer. He covers the Earth in plastic, sprays Roundup (Glyphosate) between the rows to keep the weeds down and uses all kinds of pesticides and fungicides. Then, each year, he throws miles of plastic away. Heartbreaking! I drummed and called down a blessing for the Earth here. A beautiful experience I will be sure to repeat each time I walk past – which I usually avoid doing when I’m not feeling strong. Now, thanks to your impulse, I will do so often and send prayers and acts of Beauty to this wounded Earth.
- Michaela Conzelmann , Beloved Forest in St. Georgen, Germany. Meiner geliebten Wald hinter unserem Haus, der leider kränker und kränker wird, und immer wieder werden dann die kränkesten Bäume abgesägt, die schweren Traktoren fahren durch den Wald und verdichten den Boden, so dass, wenn es geregnet hat, das Wasser ewig lang in den Pfützen steht und nicht in den Boden einsickern kann. Und ich liebe meinen Wald weiter. Bin fast täglich dort, oft mit unserer geliebten süßen Hündin Sina. Die im Wald immer den Schwanz vor Freude weit oben hat (anders als im Ort oder gar in der Großstadt, wo der Schwanz weit unten bleibt…).[My beloved forest behind my house, that sadly is sick and getting sicker, and then again and again the sickest trees are cut down, the heavy tractors drive through the forest and compact the Earth, so that when it has rained, the water stands forever in puddles, and can’t sink into the ground. And I continue to love my forest. I am there almost daily, often with our beloved sweet dog, Sina. When she is in the forest, she always has her tail held high from joy (different than in places like the village, or even more in the big city, where her tail always stays down…)]
- Pete Whitecross, Sackville Reserve on Dyarubbin (colonially known as the Hawkesbury River), NSW, Australia. The first phase of the frontier wars in Australia ended with the settlement of the Sydney basin/bioregion. In 1889 what was thought to be the remnants of the Darug nation were moved onto the Sackville Reserve (150 acres!) The last ‘resident’ Andy Barber died 1943; the allocation was revoked 1946. An obelisk was erected in 1952 as a memorial to the Aborigines of the Hawkesbury – somewhat premature as the area is still home to thousands of Darug, Darkingjung and Dorumbolooa descendants. The stories of the spirits of this Country have been regenerating strongly over the last 3-4 years – books, exhibitions, TV series, online audio histories and interactive story maps. We visited in January this year to offer food to the spirits and purify the souls. The place was sad, neglected and dark. Trees had fallen over the path and had been left to rot. We were the only people there. Yesterday the path was cleared and obviously well used. There were seven other visitors. Of the nine people, seven were born overseas – the Netherlands (5), Malaysia (1), Scotland (1). I like the way the Moreton Bay Fig has such a vigorous grip of the boulder and how the obelisk in the background is such a misconceived afterthought. Behind that you can see the river spirit. Interesting how similar spiritual regenerative work is to Nature regeneration in that it takes very little effort for Gaia to reassert itself.
- Jay Ridegewell, Vacant Lot in Buderim, Queensland, Australia. There is the vacant lot around the corner from me. Earth listening helped me mourn the big trees removed and celebrate the soil now open to the sky.
- Rachel Forgasz, a hole in the canopy, near Lavers Hill in Gadubanud Country, Australi At a place we call Brian’s Seat. Created by a fallen Mountain Ash, and, in turn, revealing a dying Myrtle Beech in the distance.
- Samar Zebian, historical battleground in the hills of in the Hills of Ain Ksour (Chouf area) Lebanon. Nadine Saidi and I went to a young regrowth forest where there were battles between theDruze Progressive Socialist Party and Christian Lebanese Forces militia of Mount Lebanon in 1982 and 1983. The war was called, The Mountain War and the village we live in is notorious for the men that fought this war, one of many fought between the Druze and Christians of mount Lebanon. The ripples are definitely felt almost everyday in the village.
We walked to a cross road that called us and received the following messages:
During the conflict, movement and growth in the forest slowed down significantly. The Pine Trees almost froze.and a certain Pine species disappeared from this particular area of the mountain (although it is found elsewhere). The forest was curious/confused about the ways in which humans dealt with conflict, and there was a deep sense of betrayal by humans. This forest felt like humans broke that law and hurt their kin deeply.
At the cross-roads, the forest, as a witness to the conflict, noticed how confused humans were at this particular crossroads. They felt many were reluctant to fight and some humans were, like them, witnesses and impartial.
Not so long ago (after almost 30 years), the forest started to move again, and trust. The forest told us that they were a species of survivalists. Not all trees species are like this. Some trees on the mountain are innately creationists and care very deeply about beauty. These trees left. no one protected them. - Kelly A McConnell, north side of Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, USA. This is the north end of Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. The channel, at times, erodes into this area, reaching to the point we are standing as it’s actually a large sandbar rather than solid land on bedrock above the sea level. As this area was developing, the channel between the Intracoastal & The Atlantic was filled in just south of here connecting this barrier island, Shell Island, to Wrightsville. The removal of that channel creates a shift in the currents and creates erosion with sand deposited elsewhere. Occasionally, the town must dredge other areas to refill this portion of the island, saving the development at this site.
- Sasha Daucus, Current River, near Doniphan, Missouri USA. This river runs through the town where I live. I’ve had some of the best and worst experiences of my life her on the river. It has also changed over the years, and some of the changes—like the water being more silty—aren’t positive. The last visit I made before this Earth Exchange, was anchored in the grief of my dog’s severe illness which meant she was not able to enjoy the visit and I had hoped she would. She died soon after. haven’t returned since. In returning to do the Earth Exchange with my good friend Gene Weinbeck, I got in touch with the sadness, and cried. Many other memories wonderful and difficult also flowed through, like the water. Then I began to notice the surroundings as they are now. Things have changed! Gene said it well, “this is a place of powerful transitions,” he said, as we stared at the huge uprooted trees that surrounded us from floods, and the lush greenery of summer in the Ozarks entwined all around it. I noticed a stone that looked like an egg—potential—and was inspired to create a nest from some of the tree roots of the uprooted trees, and to fill the nest with the rock-eggs. Life flows on, some hard, some easy and the river keeps on flowing.
- Carol Warren, garden area in Central Park, Davis CA, USA. This park is a familiar place to most people in Davis, and the garden is a well known walk. But many do not know that only a century ago, the park and larger surrounding area was a marsh, where the Patwin people gathered tule and other plants they used regularly. White settlers converted the place into a dry area, and eventually into a grass-covered park in the midst of the city’s “downtown.” It has been drastically changed from its original make-up, plant composition, and ecological function…it has been wounded, even though there is beauty. There are a number of native California plants, flowers, fruits, and grasses present, but also non-natives, such as palm trees, and a cultivated rose garden. Most of the plants here that are native to the state would not have grown in this particular place when it was a marsh. We gratefully observed hundreds of bees of various kinds, all companionably sharing the flowers. There were finches and other birds visiting the bushes and trees. The areas of soil were alive with ants. It was surprising, though, how few butterflies there were in a space with so many flowers to attract them. As in most places people frequent, there was also trash, which we picked up to discard. The air carried scents of lavender, sage, roses, and produce from the neighboring market. The squirrels were watching from the trees, as the amount of human traffic on a Saturday morning was daunting to them. As we walked along observing, we gathered some fallen plants and spent flowers from the garden to incorporate into our act of beauty. There we a number of rocks we gathered to provide a frame. My friends arranged these in a design pleasing to them in a spot off the beaten path. We all expressed gratitude for the opportunity to see a familiar place in a different way, and to see things we had not noticed because we had not looked with focused attention. They were pleased that this gift was left for the garden, and that our act of beauty was made entirely of natural materials.
- Terry Le Page, mountainside north of Oak Glen, CA, USA. A beloved retreat center about 75 miles from my home burned in 2020. The buildings and some trees around them survived. The “forested mountains” are gone. But life goes on.
- Becky Orf, Oak Savannah, outside of Silverton, Oregon, USA
I went to a surviving oak savannah outside of Silverton, Oregon, that has some of the oldest white oaks left in Oregon (100+ years old). At one time this oak savannah covered Oregon’s Willamette Valley, but most were cut down to clear land for agriculture and building. Since I was last there, a severe ice storm had struck the area, resulting in many broken branches and toppled trees, which caused a lot of grief. But then, I also noticed one tree that had been broken off about 40’ up from the ground—no limbs were remaining. But I noticed small leaves beginning to sprout along the remaining trunk and broken limbs of the tree. I was reminded of the changing, as well as the resilience, of nature. I made a small Rad Joy bird out of what I found there. - Emma Mary Gathergood, The River Severn, just south of the city of Worcester, UK. As l arrived l saw someone had beaten me to it, and as there was only apparently one sitting space l wasn’t sure whether to stay. This burly young fisherman covered in tattoos and missing a tooth saw me with my stick and said that l should be careful as it was very slippery. I changed my mind on discovering a second place slightly higher up and over to the left of where he was and asked if he minded if l got my chair and sat there for a while. He was most polite and amenable so l did. As l sat staring at the polluted sad river l saw a butterfly, then a swan flew over making a loud noise, song birds were everywhere and l saw two long tailed tits. When l asked the river what it wanted me to know, it said it was surprised at my question because no one ever actually talked to it. Yes they came and used it. Power boats, houseboats and small pleasure boats came past, but the folks on board were speaking to each other not to the river. It really appreciated me taking the time to ask it how it felt, which included brown, dirty, poisoned, and sad. I agreed to visit again and left it a tiny posy of herbs including lavender, sage and mint collected lovingly from my garden earlier.
- Ramey Rieger, field of strawberries near Herold, Germany: This a field of strawberries cultivated by our local conventional farmer. He covers the Earth in plastic, sprays Roundup (Glyphosate) between the rows to keep the weeds down and uses all kinds of pesticides and fungicides. Then, each year, he throws miles of plastic away. Heartbreaking! I drummed and called down a blessing for the Earth here. A beautiful experience I will be sure to repeat each time I walk past – which I usually avoid doing when I’m not feeling strong. Now, thanks to your impulse, I will do so often and send prayers and acts of Beauty to this wounded Earth.
- Michaela Conzelmann , Beloved Forest in St. Georgen, Germany. Meiner geliebten Wald hinter unserem Haus, der leider kränker und kränker wird, und immer wieder werden dann die kränkesten Bäume abgesägt, die schweren Traktoren fahren durch den Wald und verdichten den Boden, so dass, wenn es geregnet hat, das Wasser ewig lang in den Pfützen steht und nicht in den Boden einsickern kann. Und ich liebe meinen Wald weiter. Bin fast täglich dort, oft mit unserer geliebten süßen Hündin Sina. Die im Wald immer den Schwanz vor Freude weit oben hat (anders als im Ort oder gar in der Großstadt, wo der Schwanz weit unten bleibt…).[My beloved forest behind my house, that sadly is sick and getting sicker, and then again and again the sickest trees are cut down, the heavy tractors drive through the forest and compact the Earth, so that when it has rained, the water stands forever in puddles, and can’t sink into the ground. And I continue to love my forest. I am there almost daily, often with our beloved sweet dog, Sina. When she is in the forest, she always has her tail held high from joy (different than in places like the village, or even more in the big city, where her tail always stays down…)]
- Pete Whitecross, Sackville Reserve on Dyarubbin (colonially known as the Hawkesbury River), NSW, Australia. The first phase of the frontier wars in Australia ended with the settlement of the Sydney basin/bioregion. In 1889 what was thought to be the remnants of the Darug nation were moved onto the Sackville Reserve (150 acres!) The last ‘resident’ Andy Barber died 1943; the allocation was revoked 1946. An obelisk was erected in 1952 as a memorial to the Aborigines of the Hawkesbury – somewhat premature as the area is still home to thousands of Darug, Darkingjung and Dorumbolooa descendants. The stories of the spirits of this Country have been regenerating strongly over the last 3-4 years – books, exhibitions, TV series, online audio histories and interactive story maps. We visited in January this year to offer food to the spirits and purify the souls. The place was sad, neglected and dark. Trees had fallen over the path and had been left to rot. We were the only people there. Yesterday the path was cleared and obviously well used. There were seven other visitors. Of the nine people, seven were born overseas – the Netherlands (5), Malaysia (1), Scotland (1). I like the way the Moreton Bay Fig has such a vigorous grip of the boulder and how the obelisk in the background is such a misconceived afterthought. Behind that you can see the river spirit. Interesting how similar spiritual regenerative work is to Nature regeneration in that it takes very little effort for Gaia to reassert itself.
- Jay Ridegewell, Vacant Lot in Buderim, Queensland, Australia. There is the vacant lot around the corner from me. Earth listening helped me mourn the big trees removed and celebrate the soil now open to the sky.
- Rachel Forgasz, a hole in the canopy, near Lavers Hill in Gadubanud Country, Australi At a place we call Brian’s Seat. Created by a fallen Mountain Ash, and, in turn, revealing a dying Myrtle Beech in the distance.
- Samar Zebian, historical battleground in the hills of in the Hills of Ain Ksour (Chouf area) Lebanon. Nadine Saidi and I went to a young regrowth forest where there were battles between theDruze Progressive Socialist Party and Christian Lebanese Forces militia of Mount Lebanon in 1982 and 1983. The war was called, The Mountain War and the village we live in is notorious for the men that fought this war, one of many fought between the Druze and Christians of mount Lebanon. The ripples are definitely felt almost everyday in the village.
We walked to a cross road that called us and received the following messages:
During the conflict, movement and growth in the forest slowed down significantly. The Pine Trees almost froze.and a certain Pine species disappeared from this particular area of the mountain (although it is found elsewhere). The forest was curious/confused about the ways in which humans dealt with conflict, and there was a deep sense of betrayal by humans. This forest felt like humans broke that law and hurt their kin deeply.
At the cross-roads, the forest, as a witness to the conflict, noticed how confused humans were at this particular crossroads. They felt many were reluctant to fight and some humans were, like them, witnesses and impartial.
Not so long ago (after almost 30 years), the forest started to move again, and trust. The forest told us that they were a species of survivalists. Not all trees species are like this. Some trees on the mountain are innately creationists and care very deeply about beauty. These trees left. no one protected them. - Kelly A McConnell, north side of Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, USA. This is the north end of Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. The channel, at times, erodes into this area, reaching to the point we are standing as it’s actually a large sandbar rather than solid land on bedrock above the sea level. As this area was developing, the channel between the Intracoastal & The Atlantic was filled in just south of here connecting this barrier island, Shell Island, to Wrightsville. The removal of that channel creates a shift in the currents and creates erosion with sand deposited elsewhere. Occasionally, the town must dredge other areas to refill this portion of the island, saving the development at this site.
- Sasha Daucus, Current River, near Doniphan, Missouri USA. This river runs through the town where I live. I’ve had some of the best and worst experiences of my life her on the river. It has also changed over the years, and some of the changes—like the water being more silty—aren’t positive. The last visit I made before this Earth Exchange, was anchored in the grief of my dog’s severe illness which meant she was not able to enjoy the visit and I had hoped she would. She died soon after. haven’t returned since. In returning to do the Earth Exchange with my good friend Gene Weinbeck, I got in touch with the sadness, and cried. Many other memories wonderful and difficult also flowed through, like the water. Then I began to notice the surroundings as they are now. Things have changed! Gene said it well, “this is a place of powerful transitions,” he said, as we stared at the huge uprooted trees that surrounded us from floods, and the lush greenery of summer in the Ozarks entwined all around it. I noticed a stone that looked like an egg—potential—and was inspired to create a nest from some of the tree roots of the uprooted trees, and to fill the nest with the rock-eggs. Life flows on, some hard, some easy and the river keeps on flowing.
- Carol Warren, garden area in Central Park, Davis CA, USA. This park is a familiar place to most people in Davis, and the garden is a well known walk. But many do not know that only a century ago, the park and larger surrounding area was a marsh, where the Patwin people gathered tule and other plants they used regularly. White settlers converted the place into a dry area, and eventually into a grass-covered park in the midst of the city’s “downtown.” It has been drastically changed from its original make-up, plant composition, and ecological function…it has been wounded, even though there is beauty. There are a number of native California plants, flowers, fruits, and grasses present, but also non-natives, such as palm trees, and a cultivated rose garden. Most of the plants here that are native to the state would not have grown in this particular place when it was a marsh. We gratefully observed hundreds of bees of various kinds, all companionably sharing the flowers. There were finches and other birds visiting the bushes and trees. The areas of soil were alive with ants. It was surprising, though, how few butterflies there were in a space with so many flowers to attract them. As in most places people frequent, there was also trash, which we picked up to discard. The air carried scents of lavender, sage, roses, and produce from the neighboring market. The squirrels were watching from the trees, as the amount of human traffic on a Saturday morning was daunting to them. As we walked along observing, we gathered some fallen plants and spent flowers from the garden to incorporate into our act of beauty. There we a number of rocks we gathered to provide a frame. My friends arranged these in a design pleasing to them in a spot off the beaten path. We all expressed gratitude for the opportunity to see a familiar place in a different way, and to see things we had not noticed because we had not looked with focused attention. They were pleased that this gift was left for the garden, and that our act of beauty was made entirely of natural materials.
- Terry Le Page, mountainside north of Oak Glen, CA, USA. A beloved retreat center about 75 miles from my home burned in 2020. The buildings and some trees around them survived. The “forested mountains” are gone. But life goes on.
Why this Place?
wounded places in several countries in USA, UK, Germany, Lebanon, and Australia
12 members of the Earth Listening Circles of the Deep Adaptation Forum visited places local to them and did an Earth Exchange, as part of a global collaboration to listen to wounded places
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