THE BOOTCAMP!

Like many other bodies of water, the River Mur has been shaped by conflicting interests of humans and other species. Yet the co-existence of all its inhabitants is woven together by their common fates. “We become with each other or not at all” says Donna Haraway, acknowledging the interconnectedness of our shared ecosystems. Thus, in order to survive and thrive together new relationships with other entities are to be imagined. What would it take to make your body available for the survival and needs of another species?

Decades of river regulations by and for humans resulted in a decline of natural habitats for birds like the Little Ringed Plover. In THE BOOTCAMP edition of How to become an Island, visitors are invited to transform their bodies and minds, while working through a series of physical and mental training units in order to become a suitable breeding ground for a tiny bird species.

“As heavy as my wristwatch, my glasses, my toothbrush.
Four times lighter than my phone, my notebook, or my teacup.
Thousand times lighter than me – Charadrius dubius, Little Ringed Plover, Flussregenpfeifer!

Let’s face the facts – there are many of us, not enough of you. What if we became a breeding ground for a bird threatened by extinction?

Let’s work this out. Welcome to the Bootcamp!“