Hambi is the name used by activists and locals to describe the ancient Hambach Forest in west Germany. Today only 10% of this 12.000 year old woodland is left, since the largest coal mine in Europe, Garzweiler, has been eating its way through the forest. Activists have been occupying the forest for 10 years, creating communities among the trees and living in treehouses, to protest the destruction of Hambi and the structures that aid it.
I was there to listen-with the trees, and I experienced how the trees were literally on the front of the climate battle, with police and excavators on one side and activists on the other. But it was also inspiring to see how the forest communities was living in close and entangled contact with the woodland environment; something we could learn a lot from. In this video, I used contact microphones and heard the inner creaking and groaning of the trees and the treehouses.
The video above is an excerpt of a longer version. Recorded in the Hambach forest in October 2022.