The Damaged Planet – Michael Zobel – Woods not coal

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Forest not Coal - A Walk In and Around the Hambach Woodlands

The Hambach Forest is certainly Germany's best-known forest – since 2018 at the latest. Of what was once the largest forest in the Rhineland, 10% remain, while 90% have been sacrificed for brown coal over the last 40 years. And contrary to all statements from politicians and RWE, the rest of this wonderful forest has not been saved, but is still facing terminal destruction today. Since 2012, the "Hambi" – as the forest is affectionately called – has been inhabited by mostly young people who want to save the remaining forest with tree houses and their bodily presence and resistance. On our approximately three-hour hike, I want to show pictures, the forest and its condition, the tree houses, the clearing edge, the barricades, the excavators, the big hole ...   and I want for conversations to emerge, within the group, but maybe also with people from the forest who can explain best why they are still there and what drives them.

Michael Zobel (*1959), father of two children and grandfather of two. Following a career path that was not always straightforward, I have been out and about in the forest and in nature almost "around the clock" for 20 years after my training at Haus Ternell. I can be spotted around Aachen, in the border triangle, in the Euregio, in the High Fens. Working with every conceivable group, from kindergartens to secondary schools, from staff outings to institutions for the disabled, from biology classes to family trips, from children's birthdays to anniversaries. And at almost any time of day, from sunrise to dusk and night hikes. In addition, there are other themes I am regularly engaging with, such as LandArt, art in and with nature, further education, holiday games, and thematic guided tours of all kinds. The range is constantly being supplemented and updated.