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Voyage of Reconnecting

Landing in the lands where I was born…

The weeks before I left Aotearoa NZ, my other home, I was uncertain about how I would experience my home in the old land, Germany. For some reason, I questioned my ability to love the lands that hold my roots as much as the lands where I found home. A home that has given me so much! After all, it is the place where I first felt a sense of belonging, and this sacred bond with Mother Earth, which I was suddenly so afraid to lose.

The questions I sat with during my transition from the Southern to the Northern Hemisphere and from Summer to Winter:

What does it mean to belong to a place?

What does it mean to call a place home?

What does it mean to call a place home and be a visitor to the very same land?

What does it mean to feel like a visitor to the land you call home?

Can I sustain the spark of healing and reconnecting energy within me to carry its frequency from one home to my other homes?

I started to contemplate my roots and connection to Mother Earth. Traveling Te Tai Tokerau Northland Aotearoa before we left for Germany allowed me to see clearly, once again, that the connection the people hold with their land is one of the most potent and powerful energies we humans can experience. In deep gratitude, I bow to the Maori people and all indigenous people on Earth for their strength to continuously uphold the sacred bond with their lands and waterways. In that moment of appreciation, I received another beautiful truth! If I can feel the magical energy of the sacred bond with Mother Earth in the lands of the long white cloud, my heart will be open enough to again love the lands I was born from and to feel the sacred bond with Mutter Erde.

Remembering the water

Let me introduce you to my old new home: The beautiful Märkisch Oderland in Brandenburg, Germany.

Arriving felt pretty much like coming home, yet something was different than it was since I left 7 years ago (even when I visited 4 years ago). I am different. I bring much more awareness and a deep sense of care with me. It was always there but not as developed as it is now.

I grew up and now live again on the edge of the magnificent Naturpark Märkische Schweiz, some 50 km East of the Spree River in Berlin and some 30 km West of the Oder River on the border to Poland. Many of the pathways and waterways I explore today, I know by heart, and yet they feel like new friends to me.

During my first weeks back, I was unconsciously called to visit some of the waters of my childhood and teen memories.

Lake

Bötzsee⁠

in Eggersdorf is probably the lake closest to my heart, holding wonderful memories of my early childhood. During the first 7-year cycle of my life, the lake was there when I started to learn to swim and fish; and when we collected crayfish.

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Voyage of Reconnecting - Lake Boetzsee.gif

⁠

During the second 7-year cycle of my life, I spent the summers at the

Kiesgruben⁠

, two small lakes that were established when digging for Kies gravel. I remember that the waters were always cold and the lake was deep, close to the edge, so you had to swim to enjoy the cold wet. Sometimes we swam to the sandbank with the three stones. All are still there today.

⁠

⁠

During my third 7-year cycle, as a teenager, my friends and I explored Lake Großer Schlagenthin See. I remember one winter when the lakes and the streams were frozen. We put on our ice skates, jumped onto the frozen stream, and skated to the lake. It was a blast because the running stream froze in layers while a tiny bit of water was still running on the bottom of the stream. So it was only a matter of time before one of us would break through some layers of ice. The surprise moment didn’t get boring. Even after the 20iest time someone cracked through the ice, we burst out in great laughter.

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Voyage of Reconnecting - Grosser Schlagenthin See.jpg

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New life moved in, and some were lost

Revisiting these places rich with distant memories, I had several moments where I realized that not only was I different, the waterways have evolved too.

I was overjoyed when I saw the work of the beaver at the Großer Schlagenthin See. He is one hell of a busy beaver who can eat in heart shapes. 🤎🦫

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Voyage of Reconnecting - Beaver Work at Schlagenthiner.jpg

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Only recently, in the last decade, has the beaver found its way back to our lakes. Due to intensive hunting, these most fascinating friends were on the brink of extinction in the 19th century. They are back now because of effortless conservation work, patience, and space. Statistics say there are some 3,000 beavers back in the Greater Brandenburg area. Europe’s biggest Nagetier rodent is known for its all-around landscape architecture skills. I cannot think of another animal (despite humans) that can shift the dynamic of waterways to such an extent.

One story I heard since I landed was that a beaver flooded an entire wetland in a neighboring village. I trust the beaver knows what its home - the wetlands - need to be well. Sadly, the flooding also affected a street of the nearby village, so the beaver dam received some human intervention. It is not up to me to judge the right or wrong of any interventions. I am not a beaver expert. I am only an admirer. However, much of the knowledge and wisdom for living in harmony with the beaver was lost during their long-time absence. And in my heart, their revival is a beautiful opportunity for re-establishing a new old friendship. For the very least, the beaver managed to bring the significance of our wetlands into our minds. What a lovely reminder, full of heart-beaver work!

For other reasons, but just like us humans, the beaver’s well-being is dependent on the existence of water. This brings me to what has been lost.

All lakes and waterways I reconnected with have been losing water. With grief in my heart, I witness some lose more, and some lose less. Remember the sandbank and the three stones from Lake Kiesgrube? As a child, I was always anxious about swimming to the sandbank because I couldn’t stand on the sandbank as it was too deep. Yes, I was smaller, but adults could also only stand on the rocks. It seems like this is different now because the rather small lake has lost some 1m to 1.5m of surface. Perhaps we will see in summer where I can stand now. Or remember the frozen stream? Sad but true, the stream doesn’t carry any water that could freeze anymore. A waterway once there, now lost, yet always in my heart: RIP Diebsgraben. 💙

Since 2018, Brandenburg has experienced a drought that brought less rain and snow, as well as an increase in temperatures. The Minister for Environment in Brandenburg has predicted that we will continue to lose more lakes, rivers, and streams. That's why I am even more fascinated by the beavers thriving. I wholeheartedly believe there is so much that we can learn from the beaver and their skillful water management. It feels good to know that the beaver, a still endangered species, is protected not only Germany-wide but also through European law as part of

Natura 2000⁠

(1:11 min youtube video by EU), the largest coordinated network of protected areas in the world.

I am eager to introduce you to the entire watershed, nourishing all life in the Nature Reserve and beyond: The

Stöbbertal⁠

. But I will finish writing for today and share more from my adventure of reconnecting sometime soon.

Before I let you go, I want to say: The most fascinating thing about the Stöbbertal is probably that its river Stöbber flows in two directions simultaneously without branching: Some water goes westward via the Spree River all the way into the North Sea, and others find their way eastward via the Oder River to the Baltic Sea.

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Voyage of Reconnecting - Stoebbertal.jpg

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Now I know why great German poets like Bertolt Brecht and Theodor Fontane were deeply touched and inspired by the beauty of the Stöbbertal.

With love,

Kath 💚

⁠

3/20/2023

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🐝🌏💚

Hearted on the lands I was born to, called Märkisch-Oderland - 50 km East of the river Spree and some 30 km West of the river Oder. I grew up and now live again on the edge of the magnificent Nature Park Märkische Schweiz. I pay respect to my ancestors and the elders of the lands and waterways. I honour past, present and future.

🗺️ Visit

Native-Land.ca⁠

to learn more about the ancestors of the lands and waterways where you live, work, and play.

If you feel called to support my explorations and syntropic adventures financially and you have the means to do so, please head over to my Open Collective Page and hit the

contribute button⁠

With all my heart I say thank you and share my gratitude by continuing this journey of mine.

🙇🏼♾️💞

Remembering the water

New life moved in, and some were lost

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