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Contribution short abstract:

The practices of the forest activists movements in Poland are a sort of attempt to create a pedagogy of uncertainty. Their activities are a response to the forest management carried out by the Polish forestry, and therefore also to how forest managers create and manage Risk.

Contribution long abstract:

State management of the forest is a deeply rooted cultural practice in Poland. The State Forests manage the forest by generating various Risks of forests, which at the same time shape the public's forests perception. There are dangerous trees that threaten people, risks related to the shortage of wood or the dangers of forest destruction, i.e. bark beetle, drought, fires. These are risks that are mostly the consequences of climate catastrophe, however, climate catastrophe itself is not a Risk emphasized by forest managers. Taking long-term action to slow climate change is not in the interest of the currently in power right-wing government, which stands in opposition to the narrative of nation-state sovereignty. That's why for the past few years Polish society has been activating for forest protection, and this is in response to the State Forests' failure to act in this direction. Forest activists demand dialogue with foresters and the influence of society on forest management and the shaping of forests in Poland. They are creating activist structures from the bottom up that allow the exchange of perspectives and actions aimed at protecting forests. Their goal is to get to know each other, share emotions, talk about opportunities, possibilities and threats to forest movements, and develop common actions and narratives. Activists, therefore, through their actions create pedagogies of uncertainty as a response to the Risks shaped by foresters. They are one method for collective action in the face of climate catastrophe and rethinking our relationship with nature.