The Dannenröder Forest in central Germany, is known, affectionately, by those who are trying to protect it, as “Danni”. Danni is an old growth forest – whole sections of it have grown and evolved without direct human influence – but for the last four decades it has been threatened by the building of a new motorway which, if built, would cut this showpiece of sustainable forestry in half. This new motorway would lead to the fragmentation of the forest’s fragile ecosystems, the kind of fragmentation that has led to the rapid extinction of species in our lifetimes, and the rising perils of climate change. To prevent the building of this motorway, pro- testors have taken to the trees of the forest itself, living for the past year in homemade treehouses, resisting eviction, and battling against the government. These events came to a head late last year when the government pressed ahead with the building of the motorway, brutally evicting the protestors and cutting down many trees.
In October 2020, photographer Joachim Mueller-Ruchholtz spent time among the activists of the Dannenröder Forest as they made their stand against the German government.
DANNENROEDER FORST - print issue of 150 copies / artists edition
Folder: 380gr printed on G.F Smith Extract, a paper produced using CupCyclingTM technology @gfsmith
Format open: 912 mm × 390mm Format folded: 300 mm × 390mm
Printed by Calverts, London UK
Inside: Newspaper print - 33 images / 40 pages / 20 loose sheets
Graphic Design: Norm, Zuerich https://norm.to
Set in: LL Riforma
Interview with activists printed inside
Photography and copyright: Joachim Mueller-Ruchholtz 2021
