About a year ago, the forest-occupation project in Uppsala started after the municipality officially decided to clear a more than 200-year-old forest in order to build expensive high-rise buildings in its place.

The forest, Blodstensskogen, is located between two nature reserves and thus serves as a corridor for the many forest animals to move around. At the same time, Blodstensskogen has developed a strong and diverse ecosystem through its long existence. For example, there are deciduous trees and fir trees that are over a hundred years old, and it is home to many animals, including those that are protected (Red Listed Animals: different insects such as the longhorn beetle, musk longhorn beetle, scarlet fungus beetle, birds such as the black woodpecker and the crested tit, fungi such as the pine fire sponge, irpicodon pendulus, resupinate spurge and the beautiful earth stars, as well as three different species of bats that use the Blodstensskogen as hunting grounds and for reproduction).

We do not want to accept the unjustified clearing of the Blodstensskogen and therefore started to build tree houses and different platforms in the threatened forest. We were inspired by occupations like the one in the Hambach Forest and the many activists* who defend the forest with their dedication and steadfastness. We also want to thank them for their active help, on the one hand for the grant for materials, but especially for the help we received on site from some activists who came especially to share their knowledge with us!

The struggle for a more sustainable world with a fairer climate continues, even now, in these turbulent and uncertain times overshadowed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

It is still unclear whether the Blodstensskogen can persist. At the moment, there is still a legal process, but it has little chance of success and can be ended at any time by an eviction order. A few days ago, people from the municipality came into the forest and threatened us to leave the tree house and the existing structures, or they destroy it because it was an “illegal construction”, starting on Sunday 7 June – ridiculous when you consider that the whole forest is to be cleared to make way for high-rise buildings. That is what we call illegal!

It is important for us to stress: If there is an eviction, we need your support. In times of the corona pandemic we are learning many new forms of action. Even though civil disobedience is great and absolutely necessary on site and we want to encourage people to come to Blodstensskogen, you can also support us through media (FB: https://www.facebook.com/raddablodstensskogen) or by donating money. For further details / contact please write us: blodstensskogen@riseup.net / +46 739992861

We thank you and send everyone much strength and perseverance.

– The activists from Blodensskogen