#123 A Guided Tour of the Forest that owns Itself

 

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The next 4 tree stories (#122-125) were recorded at the Earth Charter +25 event in The Hague in July 2025 .

Peter Akerman is a conservationist based in the Netherlands. He is founder of the Youth Environmental Council “De Jongerenmilieuraad”, (green) project leader for the government and chairman of the foundation “Bos dat van zichzelf is”.  He guided our group (from the Earth Charter + 25  event in July 2025) on day 3 of the event in Landgoed Zonheuval near Utrecht. The woods we walked through is also known as “Het Bos Dat van Zichzelf Is  – the Forest that Owns Itself.” ….

The concept of Nature owning itself and caretakers acting on its behalf has been part of indigenous thinking for past generations but it is now being explored in our global thinking in various corners of the world . One example is where New Zealand granted legal personhood to the Whangani Ricer and the Te Urewera Forest ( 2017).

 The method pioneered in the Netherlands is special. To protect the forest the NGO use a modern version of Act of Redemption. A document that was used in 1576 to for the first time in history to give legal protection to a forest in The Netherlands, possibly the world. The document states that the forest is forever free from being cut.

In 2026 it is 450 years ago since the document was signed, Therefore the NGO will organize a grand celebration exhibition in The Hague.

Peter mentioned that the philosophical debate and legal process for “Het Bos Dat Van Zichzelf Is” had already taken 10 years and many more years yet to evolve this concept to become a mainstream way to protect and give back nature.

This new development  of Nature locations attaining legal status (with caretaking by humans) is part of the great shifts of our time and can help us imagine positive futures including the development and recognition for Ecocide as an International Law .

Peter’s Story here  has been edited to one minute and highlights only a few areas of interest on our walk .

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Peters words:

Over there is a forest planted for wood production ,

So you see the same kind of trees all long and straight ,

kind of boring , you see very little foliage on the ground.

These kinds of forests are common in the Netherlands

they were planted for ship building , creating mine shafts

This art piece is called ‘Netelee’

built by 25 art students and they built a very big art exhibition

for a group of almost 70 leaders from the government

to let them experience nature ,

there were stories here about indigenous values

and about being a good ancestor.

And a lot of art pieces , most of them have already been cleaned up

because we don’t want to damage the forest.

These burn really really slowly ,

you can take it along(the ember) with you for a day or two

and it will keep smouldering and that is a very

easy way to transport fire from one place to another

The Beech tree ( in ancient mythology)  is a female tree representing softness and healing.

if you feel a little bit upset go sit under a beech tree

and you will see if you will feel much better

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Acknowledgments

Immense gratitude to the story tellers who contributed here. I also wish to extend a  huge thank you to all the people from the Earth Charter +25 event  at the Hague in July 2025. It was a great gathering of various energies and initiatives. For more on my experiences during these special three days see my blog below  .

The Earth Charter – an artist’s perspective The Hague July 1-3 2025

For more on the Earth Charter itself

Read the Earth Charter

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# 1 Teardrops After a Storm                reflections on a Willow after the pandemic

# 2 Pomegranate Tree                           in balance with life and nature

# 3 Trees are like Humans                 shared characteristics between humans and trees

# 4 Old Ash–A Real Survivor            resilience of an old ash  in the Cork countryside

# 5 Tree Rings of Life                            parallel  growth and development of people and trees

# 6 A Very Weird Elf                           roots and what grows beneath

# 7 Old Crabapple of Wenhua Dian   ancient crabapple orchard in the Forbidden City

# 8 Standing Fast                                ‘ … weight is cherished when we care’   a poem on steadfastness

# 9 Feeling Good – Tree Song             a song of joy and spontaneity in Daizu language

#10 Forest Breath – Tree Story        ‘….400 million years of forest breath’

#11 Protective Peach – Tree Story   …peach wood placed under a child’s pillow

#12 Bee Tree Sycamore                        can produce the same pollen of a half an acre of  wild flowers

#13 Winter Apples                      ‘…a dim burn glistens from the frosted skin’  a poem on winter fruit

#14 Ancient Yew Trees    the traces of a church moved brick by brick across the river 100 years ago

#15 Once I Counted Birds              on one of the Cook islands where no people live  (AGB -An Gairdín Beo April workshops 2023)

#16 Family Oak                                  the passing of saplings through friends and family                 (AGB)

#17 When the Trees Say Everything    finding your identity and way of life                                  (AGB)

#18 Strawberry Tree                         Strawberry tree in ‘the Gairdin Beo’ community garden     (AGB)

#19 Mother Oak and Baby Oak    a link to Cnoc an Doirin                                                              (AGB)

#20 My Leylandii                              a seemingly bland tree  linking past and present                   (AGB)

#21 Chestnut Repotted                a volunteer working at ‘the Gairdin Beo’ community garden  (AGB)

#22 Native Birch                               transplanting  Irish Birch                                                             (AGB)

#23 Ethan’s Tree                              a heartbreaking story about a tree in Carlow’s town park      (AGB)

#24 Holding Trunk of Time        a haiku on the trunk of time                                                          (AGB)

#25 Our Mother’s Legacy                a memory of teaching her children the latin names of plants   (AGB)

#26 It Blossomed                                    ‘… the power to change my mood’                                        (AGB)

#27 Always Trying To Hold Each Other Up   ‘… a gentle breeze comes and they get excited’      (AGB)

#28 Wollemi Pine                                      ‘…I am one of the oldest and rarest trees’                        (AGB)

#29 Barrow Willow                                  ‘…holding the river bank together’                                     (AGB)

#30 For What We Might Become       ‘ ..roots clutching soil ripe with a lifeforce’                         (AGB)

#31 Sheltering Beech                        growing up in the countryside  a story with a shocking ending   (AGB)

#32 Millennium Monkey Puzzle    a story connecting family and time                                          (AGB)

#33 Monterey Cyprus                            ‘….  the amazing woody wonder’                                          (AGB)

#34 Struggle On, Struggle On        ‘.. blossoms brightly before being swallowed by its white cousin’   (AGB)

#35 Like A Chestnut       imagining the journey of a chestnut in 1500’s while sitting under its tree   (AGB)

#36 Head and Shoulders Above the Rest    Californian Redwood, the giant, the king of trees     (AGB)

#37 An Dair Sean                                   Old Oak – ultimate wisdom                                                     (AGB)

#38 Trees for the Forest        a reflection on centuries of fossil fuel use and a strive for regeneration   (AGB)

#39 The year 1710               counting the rings on an old oak stump with forester  Michael Sommers   (AGB)

#40  I Feel at Peace                  a collaborative response to trees, from Delta Centre Hanover

#41 Chongqing Cedar              the trees of Zhaomushan Park can pull the heart strings homeward

#42 Fire Vine Bauhinia                        Hani and the Dai cultures view this plant very differently          (XTBG XishuangbannaTropical Botanical Gardens)

#43 Bamboo – Flutter           a special bamboo used for cooking rice , it also has a unique flutter  (XTBG)

#44 St Anne’s Oak                  childhood memory of being with her brothers  and hiding from bullies (CGF – Carlow Garden Festival August 2023)

#45 Angie’s Umbrella Tree    A weeping Elm holding twisted branches called the ‘granny’s chair’  (CGF)

#46  Berna’s Umbrella Tree                     a memory of  outsmarting grandmother                               (CGF)

#47 Hawthorne , it gives and it gives…a fairy tree, a boundary tree , the blossoms smell divine      ( CGF)

#48 Apple Tree Swing                         memories of a beautiful summers day                                        (CGF)

#49 Forest Bathing 1                         ‘ …throw out your yoga mats and settle yourself into the ground  (CGF)

#50 Forest Bathing 2                   ‘ …. you start to notice all the animals , the owls and the red squirrels (CGF)

#51  Mulberry                                      when swiss watches were almost made in Waterford                    (CGF)

#52 Prunus Kanzan                        ‘…..It was like confetti. It was just such a remarkable sight to see.’  (CGF)

#53 Oak We absolutely love it        ‘…Children love playing on it  and they have a swing on it’  (CGF)

#54 Pre-Famine Timber                   ‘….two and a half miles of river Slaney ’                                     (CGF)

#55 Slogged Apples                         ‘….We used to build huts up there on the tree’                          (CGF)

#56 Ash  Determined to stay put      two sisters share a memory of an Ash in Ennis County Clare  (CGF)

#57 Best Apple Tart in Headford      ‘…four girls would stand under and shake it’                           (CGF)

#58 Apple Tree of Clonmel              …..a little plantation of apple trees in memory of people        (CGF)

#59 Horizontal Arbutus Unedo        ‘… when they are actually on the ground lying beside you ‘      (CGF)

#60 Euonymus Zones             ‘….when April came she opened with a simple dress of sapling green’    (CGF)

#61 How big they can get                   ‘…to see them growing up over the years’                                 (CGF)

#62 Autumn Maple                              a family tradition of Sunday walks in the park                         (CGF)

#63 The Magic of Moss                      the impact of a moss covered tree on a non verbal young boy  (CGF)

#64 Gallipoli and the Sycamore  planted in the early 1900’s by  Anthony Wheatley                  (CGF)

#65 Liquid Amber ‘…..full leaf colour , red orange yellow absolutely aflame ‘                                (CGF)

#66 Hardymount Chestnut ‘….when half of it fell down it kept us warm for about a year’           (CGF)

#67 Silver Birch – a gentle and lovely ending ‘……it just gently fell, like a kind of a yawn’            (CGF)

#68 Keeping Black Bird Company  ‘… for  years it appeared that the same blackbird came back(CGF)

#69 Tulip Tree                                    ‘….. It was said that after about 15 years it would bloom ‘     (CGF)

#70 Itea Iliciafolia                           ‘……So every year it reminds me …’                                                (CGF)

#71 Silver Birch Moonlight  ‘…. the full moon was right smack in the middle of the three of them’  (CGF)

#72 The Shape of it                                    how to recognize Silver Birch and Oak                             (CGF)

#73 The Missing Gorilla                  mistaken identity,  one of the rare few funny tree stories !    (CGF)

#74 The Tree House                               ‘…. we spent many years down by the river ‘                      (CGF)

#75 Bat Burglars                recall how their trees introduced birds and bats to the garden           (CGF)

#76 The Perfect Conker        a boyhood quest to find the best one                                                  (CGF)

#77 Ginkgo Biloba and Sweet Gum      Rachel Doyle tells of her favourite trees                             (CGF)

#78 Ash The Horse Whisperer        training horses under a huge Ash tree                                       (CGF)

#79 Healers                                         A story of healing and a love of trees                                         (CGF)

#80 Fairy Ash                                     an old ash  with burly roots holding little pools of water     (CGF)

#81 Under the Oak                         memories of growing  up on a farm surrounded by trees       (CGF)

#82 Date Palm   The life line of the Arabian Dessert for thousands of years

#83 Willow – Branching out preventing the felling of a tree on the grounds of an embassy

#84 Tree Bee Hive                             creating natural habitats for honey bees

#85 Flaky Bark Birch                    the unexpected sight of red flaky bark flickering in the wind    (CECS Chengdu Europe Culture Season -May 2024)

#86 Devine Tree of SanXingduia lyrical response to largest archaeological bronze tree sculpture (CECS)

#87 Pagoda Tree                         a former residence of a French poet at a taoist temple in the woods (RUC-CW Mount West series)

#88 Encounter                                     Reflections in Dr Bussières garden                                    (RUC-CW Mount West series)

#89 Maples of a Hundred Years     two special maple trees in Xishan                                      (RUC-CW Mount West series)

#90 French Chestnut                  …time has condensed into a deep point in me’                       (RUC-CW Mount West series)

#91 The Greatest Blessing           caretaking for plants and animals is a blessing      (A4 artist residency Chengdu Sept-Oct 2024)

#92 Little Red Basin                     childhood memories                                                      (A4 artist residency)

#93 Ginkgo of BaihuatanChengdu Ginkgos                                                                 (A4 artist residency )

#94 Trees of Fuhu Temple        the special wood of nanmu                                           (A4 artist residency)

#95 Magnolia Tree                     being stopped in your tracks by an unexpected sight (A4 artist residency)

#96 A Place called Fairy Tree        A magical tree that can no longer be found          (A4 artist residency)

#97 A Tree Transplanted               finding the same tree everywhere                            (A4 artist residency)

#98 Different Branches                 solitary explorations in the park                               (A4 artist residency)

#99 The Trees are Whispering    Contemplating woodland communications            (A4 artist residency)

#100 Euonymus acquifolium     Plant Hunter                                                                    (A4 artist residency)

#101 Tree Dance Austria        A choreographer spends a week with a tree                  (A4 artist residency)

#102 Tree Shadows    …  interplays with light as it swings in the breeze                       (A4 artist residency)

#103 Two Trees        interdependent attachment, love  and growth                             (A4 artist residency)

#104 Children’s Games       The games that we play                                                         (A4 artist residency)

#105 The Highest Climber     A point marked by chalk from the class room                (A4 artist residency)

#106 Tenacity        A careless moment turns to courage and resilience                       (A4 artist residency)

#107 Osmanthus Tree      fragrant tree taken down                                                         (A4 artist residency)

#108 Blue Eucalyptus   the persuit of Art and Nature                                                     (A4 artist residency)

#109 Home  a micro perspective  An ecosystem that feels like home                     (A4 artist residency)

#110 Grandma’s Walnut and Mulberry      The passing of time                                    (A4 artist residency)

#111 Under the Shade of a Tree       A semi open space                                                 (A4 artist residency)

#112 Rowan – Mountain Ash      berries and mistlethrush

 

# 113  Cloning Ancient Trees      living records  (recorded at Beijing Academy of Forestry  and Landscape Architecture BAFLA)

#  114  White Robed General    and other ancient trees of Beijing                 (BAFLA )

# 115  Research on Ancient Trees         some aspects                                       (BAFLA)

# 116  Migrating Scholar Tree    ancestral roots                                                (BAFLA)

# 117    Road Rerouted      ancient grove of Junipers                                         (BAFLA)

# 118  Hugging Tree King Ceremony   games for Nature Education            (BAFLA)

# 119   Willow Warrior carbon capture and toxin removal                                (BAFLA)

# 120  Within Nature   a compass for life                                                             (BAFLA)

# 121 Whispering Wind  memories of grandparents garden                            (BAFLA)

# 122 A Dove Tree for the Earth Charter   what is Peace?              (Earth Charter + 25 )

# 123 A Guided Tour in the Forest that owns Itself        seeing new things    (EC+25 )

 

Niamh Cunningham