about the project
a global project exploring localised human-nature relationships
What is your nature? Nature is all around us and in many forms. Depending on where you are in the world, nature looks different, feels different, sounds different and is within a different proximity of human livelihoods. People have their own personal relationship with nature, based on their culture, memories and experiences. Everyone has their own motives to go into nature or bring nature close to them, be it for a calm walk or for work. We all live with our own nature in the local space of our living environment and beyond. This research projects wants to understand the multiplicity and plurality of localised human-natures in the world.
Nature is always changing. The current era painfully indicates that humanity has not been treating nature well, as exploitative patterns deteriorate global nature. We change and natures change with us based on how we use and respect nature. Climate change, policy change and value change all have their impact on nature. Humanity protects nature, destroys nature, brings nature to the city, transforms nature into food systems. How do we relate to this change of the human-nature relationship? What emotions are experiences? How do we relate to the future of human-natures? Those kind of questions are crucial in a time that can most of all be characterised by change itself.
Walking opens up space to experience nature. Humans walk through their environments a lot, therefore walking is a natural way of humans to relate to the world. We do not experience our surroundings sitting, we move through them. The slow pace of walking allows us to observe through all our senses, whether consciously or not. As we walk through the world, we encounter society, we see others, nature, human-made structures, triggering associations and thoughts. We make our world, our natures, walking. This research projects centres around walking for exactly those reasons. Walking as a research method can capture the embodied an lived people-place relationships and removes the formality and power imbalances that limit more traditional research methodologies.
We invite you to join our research project by walking your nature, either alone or together. Walk in an area of choice, where you go for a walk, to have a calming break, where you feel comfortable or that is in any other way meaningful for you. We have made a card set with questions that can guide your experience. Using WhatsApp, you can share your experiences with us. Click here to download the instructions and card set.
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