Once again Chewie, from the Open Forest Collective lead an experimental forest walk through the protected landscape area of Křivoklátsko (CZ) on the 9th of October 2022. This in-person walk was part of a longer 2-days field trip organized in the framework of Uroboros festival so there were more participants this time, than the usual dog-human pair of our previous walks in this patch.
Forest walkers followed Chewie in exploring a patch of the local Bohemian forest and learned about its complex multi-species environment. The walk, as per the collective’s aims, was performative and open-ended, centered around the elements of spontaneity, surprise, curiosity and squirrels. After and during the walk participants exchanged experiences, observations and sensory impressions in the form of forest-stories.
The walk builds on the Collective’s previous experimental walks in other forests around the world that invite diverse forest creatures, including forest dwellers, Indigenous forest guardians, healers, scientists, data managers, artists, designers, as well as dogs and trees, to walk together and share their stories. Through these encounters, the Collective hopes to better understand how various stakeholders make sense of forest; questioning what can constitute a forest dataset, how it can be produced, and by whom. The main aim is to learn how forests and forest data can be produced, thought of and engaged with otherwise, in feral, co-creative ways that consider perspectives of diverse forest creatures and reach beyond techno-solutionist perspectives.
Thanks to all who joined us!