The other day we visited Wald. Berlin. Klima. which roughly translates to “Forest. Berlin. Climate”. This exhibition was a path with multiple views and informational plaques that describes the ecosystems and impacts of the Berlin forest on the citizens of Berlin. Just within the city limits, the area we visited was an intact forested region with toads, birds, insects, ponds, and swamps all technically in the city. This site was very inspiring in the way that everyone who visits is given an astoundingly specific sense of place. What I mean is that the tour that the exhibitions leads you on familiarizes you with the plants, animals, and terrain, really the “place”, that you find yourself in. The whole experience does a great job in picking you up out of the modern city, the modern world, and placing you in a completely different setting, with a 20 minute drive in between.
Throughout the exhibition there were plenty of way-finding devices and maps to help you find your way through the forest. An example of way-finding devices were these wooden posts painted in orange or orange symbols painted on trees to tell you if you’d strayed from the path. Then when you eventually reached one of the informational sites, of which there were 11, they would tell you facts about the forest in a thought provoking way. One such site painted all the trees in a 10×10 meter square in blue to represent the amount of forest needed to match the CO2 emission of one Berliner. Another site discussed the importance of tree diversity for the health of the forest and so on. Truly a fascinating exhibition that engages the audience in the most fun and unexpected way possible.
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