Berlin Urban Nature Advocates connect with Budapest's UNAs and her urban nature

Imagine standing in a circle while someone behind you places small treasures from nature into your hands, unseen, only felt. Something rough, something tiny, something cool to the touch. Slowly, these natural fragments begin to awaken your imagination, and before you even realise it, a smile appears on your face:)

This was one of the invitations offered during the Urban Nature Immersion in a park in Budapest, where six Urban Nature Advocates from Berlin, together with three educators, visited the coordinating organisation of the project, Laszeto. The walk was led by Urban Nature Advocates trained in Hungary.

At one point, someone said, “The earth here feels so earthy, so real.” The frogs were louder than the cars, and the wind wove together the rays of sunlight.

After exploring the parks of Budapest, we travelled on to the heart of Etyek, a wonderful farm where a great pot of soup and generous cakes accompanied an evening of stories and the meeting of two groups brought together by a shared passion for discovering nature.

The second day was devoted to exploring sounds in the park, where musical installations are woven into the green landscape. There, during the evaluation circle, words emerged that stayed with us: “Contact with nature has changed me.” “This practice has allowed me to connect with the here and now.” “I feel that I am rediscovering something anew.”

And there were many, many more such reflections.

Small natural objects collected from the surroundings and arranged into little compositions became the visual culmination of the experience.

Thank you to the Hungarian Messzelátó team.

The night train journey, both there and back, served as a vehicle for team integration at KulturNest e.V, and we hardly have the words to describe the beauty and wisdom that the Urban Nature Advocates: Maeve, Sebastian, Jody, Kate, Dilan and Kern bring to this project.

Project co-funded by the European Union.

The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.