<div><strong>What is it about? </strong>
</div>
<div>With the project ‘Guardians of the Elbe valley’, I aim to tell the story of the Elbe and her guardians through an animist lens, understanding the river and her ecosystems as interconnected beings in a living system in which humans have a responsibility of care. I am going to do this by biking the long-distance cycle route along the river, the Elberadweg, and collecting stories from people living along the river, whose lives are shaped by her currents.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Following the rhythm of the river, I will visit places and projects on my route where people are taking up the role of Guardians of the Earth. These are places where people are rebuilding relationships of care and reciprocity with the ecosystems they are part of, such as self-sufficient communities, community-supported farms or innovative forestry projects. By telling the river’s story through this lens, I expect to show that the foundations of a sustainable future are already being practiced in the present and can be woven together into a relational vision of the future.
</div>
<div><br />
</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/105605169_1782996138144902_r.jpg" width="100%" />
<div>Landscape along the Elbe
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>What is the goal? </strong>
</div>
<div>Through the production of three different outputs, I intend to bring this vision for the future and the work of the ‘guardians of the Elbe’ to a broader public. The first output is a book in which the Elbe tells her own story, highlighting the changing relationship between the river and humans throughout history. It will explore what this changing relationship might mean for the future. Secondly, a podcast series will give the guardians a platform to talk about their relationship to the river and how this has changed their perspective on life. Lastly, a travelling exhibition will bring the results of the project back to the communities along the Elbe’s river banks. This will have a measurable impact through an increased awareness of the concept of ‘guardians of the earth’, new connections between the different guardians and an increased visibility for the featured projects within their local communities. In this way, the project will build new networks along the river.
</div>
<div><br />
</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/105605169_1782996181593636_r.jpg" width="100%" />
<div>A 'Rundling' village in the Wendland region
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>Who am I? </strong>
</div>
<div>My name is Joost Herrebout. I am committed to unveiling possible futures by connecting the stories of modernity and the animist world. I believe that the seeds for a flourishing and sustainable society are already sown in the present. This can be seen in the work of many people who recover the relationship between humans and the ecosystems we inhabit. By collecting their personal stories and weaving them into a bigger story, my work reveals alternative ways of relating to the world, allowing those seeds to germinate into networks of care and connection.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Inspired by the works of Robert Macfarlane, Anna Tsing or Richard Powers, I aim to give the other-than-human world a voice which can tell this bigger story. Rivers, forests or mountains all provide a sense of time different from the human perspective. They have witnessed societies being born, growing, dying off and being composted into whatever came next. I believe that recovering this rhythm in the human imagination can bring back a sense of impermanence, care and reciprocity among humanity.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>With a background in architecture, I have always been interested in the way our environment influences human behaviour, relationships and quality of life. An urgent curiosity about the power of community and incremental building has guided me ever since. In my professional life as an urban planner, I was confronted with the gap between planned environments and lived realities. I increasingly noticed I was mainly valued for my analytical skills, geographic mapping and long-term visions rather than my focus on participation and the relation between people and their environment. This sparked interest in the question of who gets to shape these places and whose knowledge is valued in the process.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Following this intuition, I searched for a more grounded relationship with place and the more-than-human world. I stepped away from conventional urban planning practice and explored communities experimenting with different ways of living through non-profit work, travelling and volunteering on farms. This experience led me to the central question of ‘Guardians of the Elbe Valley’: how can we rebuild relationships of care and reciprocity with the ecosystems that sustain us?
</div>
<div><br />
</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/105605169_1782996409639145_r.jpg" width="100%" />
<div>The Elberadweg cycle path
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>What do I need support for? </strong>
</div>
<ul>
<li>Interview and recording material (e.g. microphone, camera, ...) - ~1000 euro
</li>
<li>Bicycle material and maintenance (panier rack, panier bags, general maintenance, ...) - ~500 euro
</li>
<li>Clothing (for rain, sun, wind, ...) - ~200 euro
</li>
<li>Travel costs (food, overnight stays, ...) - ~2000 euro
</li>
<li>Production costs (editing software, launching of podcasts, publishing of book, ...) - ~1000 euro
</li>
</ul>

Jera Van den Bulcke

Hein Coumou

Mario Minauf

Brian Hinton

Leah Doll

Anonymous

Mirko Gläser

Felix Roos

Guardians of the Elbe Valley

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

paymentProcessor

3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

paymentProcessorAccountId

fallback mode accounts

proCampaignId

p2p legacy startfundraising page

be_supporter_comments_enabled_supported_funds

AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

Supporter Comments Eligible Funds

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

currencyCode

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

writePath

Stream Notification

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

Users Receiving Braze KYC Validation Failed

Native 11.3.0 and above

Influencer - Prod

US fundraisers and US users

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

email

appVersion

shouldBucketIntoExperiment

partnerId

donationCadence

isActiveFundraiser

isPartner

isMobile

npoProfileOptIn

fundIsLinkedWithMeta

hasSessionDonation

isCampaignOwner

fundHasInstagramDeepLink

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Guardians of the Elbe Valley

Still €1,750 to go. Help us build momentum.