In the Wake of the Sandbound – Nick Hunt

Nick Hunt traverses the spine of the Curonian Spit in the Baltic
Sea, and learns how its sands—anchored by forest roots for
millennia—began to move rapidly and swallow villages in the
eighteenth century when woodlands and sacred groves were
systematically clear-cut for timber. Though halted through
engineering and reforestation, the dunes are now eroding under
human footsteps, and spilling into the lagoon they border. As he
witnesses how quickly landscapes are changed by our own hands, Nick
asks if the challenge is not in reversing the damage we’ve done,
but in remembering humility before the forces of the Earth. Read
the essay. Discover more stories from our latest print
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