Climate Walk by Wanderers of Changing Worlds

Research, Education, Art.
We are trekking across Europe to understand regional experiences of climate change. Educational workshops are held and the voices are dying we hear and landscapes are dying we wander through are disseminated through the media.

Climate Walk – hiking through Europe’s climates

Climate Walk is a project of the Viennese NGO Europäische Klimawanderung. It combines research, art and education to explore local effects of climate change and changing climates across Europe. During the 11.000 km hike, which began in summer 2022, the wanderers immerse themselves in changing landscapes and their inhabitants. The goal is to understand what it is like to live in places affected by climate change. Various tales and practices are gathered to develop a better understanding of the impact of climate change. More information can be found on our homepage.

Follow the Wanderers: Climate Walk 2022

The three pillars: research, education, art and media

The wanderers study local experiences of how landscapes, practices and ways of living have changed in 17 European countries. The research is continuously analysed and the results will be published after the Climate Walk to share the fresh knowledge on climate change (see the results of our research).

In collaboration with local communities, universities, schools and NGOs, the wanderers organise public workshops as part of the education project, wherein local challenges are embedded into the global context, and solutions are sought together. The workshops provide a stage for local knowledge to be exchanged, and enable individuals and communities discover their agency to build sustainable bridges into the future.

With a further emphasis on media and art, Climate Walk strives to share captivating stories related to climate change. The focus is on unseen places and unheard voices. Through a comprehensive media presence, a touring exhibition and much more, the Climate Walk wants to bring people into a socio-ecological future – not only physically but also emotionally. (See also the touring exhibition of the Austria Walk)

Our project presents us with enormous challenges, not only in terms of planning and implementing the hike itself, but also in terms of financing it. That’s why our approach involves many different financial footholds, and EcoCrowd is one of them. In addition to public funding, and financing through partnerships with relevant organizations and socio-ecologically sustainable businesses, crowdfunding is one of the options we are looking for.

The target sum is made up of essentials like hiking equipment (tents, good shoes, clothing; Second Hand wherever possible), as well as travelling expenses (accommodation, provisioning, public transport). We approximate 20€ for accommodation per night and person (with 2 Wanderers being en route at all times), which for the whole way adds up to 18.000€.

Don’t worry: none of us wants to become rich. We would never be able to finance the Climate Walk to this extent out of our own pockets, and will therefore use the collected money exclusively for activities to plan and carry out the project.

Travel expenses, accommodation, food and much more have to be paid – and as you can probably imagine, this will add up to a lot.

What happens if we will not reach our goal?

As we are already on the way, the Climate Walk will happen in one or another way. We are prepared for various scenarios and in the worst case the gathered money will be used for a “Climate Walk light”. Anyhow the basic idea will stay the same.

In recent years, climate change has been present in the awareness of people more and more. At the same time, climate change is often treated as an abstract problem that could affect us sometime in the future, even though its consequences already significantly influence many lives. Next to the emotionally charged discourse of climate change, the topic is also very complex. Even if we leave aside abstract models and CO2 emission, the impact and causes of climate change are diverse and not easily tangible. While the work of IPCC and agreeing upon climate goals (for example the Parisian 1.5-degree-goal) are extremely important, many people do not understand what the models, temperature forecasts and climate goals mean exactly.

We are convinced that the ways to tackle climate change have to be as diverse and manifold as its causes. This is why we combine academic, educational, media and art approaches. On one side, the workshops, as well as the media and art dimension, should increase awareness and sensibility about local environmental issues and their impacts. On the other side, the walking itself is seen as a role model for future and sustainable ways of travelling and movement.

Since the “hard science” or natural scientific approach is very much in the forefront in the context of climate change, this project aims to complement these important data with research that is “closer” to the individual perceptions and human emotional experience of climate change and its impacts.

Another goal is to focus on the relations between humans and thereby, providing the ground on which a sustainable future can be founded.

The Climate Walk is a project of the Wanderers of Changing Worlds, a dedicated team of academics, activists and friends. Although the project was originally the idea of one of our members, it quickly developed into a group project that reflects the different interests and passions of the individual members. Based in Vienna, the following people are working on the realization of our adventure:

The Team

we move the present.