Category: VPA

(Post and Image provided by Hope Frye)

Today was our first full day here at the Väddӧ Folkschool, and it was very chill! The weather was not great, as it was pretty cold and rainy in the afternoon, causing our meeting that was supposed to occur then with a local environmentalist wellness educator, Malin Ericksson, to be delayed until Friday. This gave us plenty of free time in the morning, until we met for class in the afternoon! My roommate, Olivia, and I spent that time going grocery shopping at the local ICA supermarket, which was just about 20 minutes away by walking. We used this opportunity to plan and buy enough food for all the meals and dinners we will have to make while we are here at the folkschool!

During class, we were focusing on doing our readings, but this time, we read for about 45 minutes, near each other, and focused on whatever we found interesting, whether from the class reading book, All We Can Save, or from one of the books in our “Sister Forest Library,” then after that time we came back and shared about what we had found interesting from our individual readings. I only read from All We Can Save, and I focused mostly on reading the poem “Dead Stars” from it, which I highly recommend. After that part of class, we then focused on brainstorming ideas for our community art project in Singӧ, in which, I was with a group that mainly focused on building bat houses to give to the local community.

Overall it was a very chill and relaxing day, especially after our really nice, but long experience camping; and I’m glad to be able to stay in some really nice dorms!

(Post and Image provided by Olivia Ebens)

This weekend was composed of two days of some needed rest and relaxation, but for others it’s a chance for another adventure. There was an array of different activities happening between all of the students and faculty. Many of the students went back to Stockholm or Norrtälje to wander more and experience more of the cities. Figuring out the bus schedules were an interesting journey for many. There are also some students that choose to stay in Stockholm for the night as well to extend their Stockholm adventures. Many other students stayed within Väddö, to use the days to relax or explore the surrounding area by walking or by bike.

The picture of the sea above was from one of the adventures. The students walked one hour to go to a sandy beach and experience the Baltic Sea. There was a lot of cool geology, sea plants, and sea creatures to explore while they were there. However, the Baltic Sea isn’t warm and both of the students that went there can both confirm that the temperature is comparable to Lake Superior. By the end of the day they had walked a little over 10 miles to complete their adventures. Everyone enjoyed having time to catch up on some R&R or explore the surrounding area.

Can’t wait for what tomorrow will bring,
Students of Sustainability in Sweden 2025

(Post provided by Cora Mullins, Image provided by Molly Cavaleri)

We set out around 9 o’clock this morning to meet with Malin Eriksson, a behavioral scientist who works a lot with forests and nature. She took us on a walk through the woods in a nature reserve, teaching us about opening our senses along with the importance of nature when managing one’s wellbeing. She foraged for many edible lingonberry flowers, spruce tips, blueberry leaves, and juniper fruits that we got to try while experimenting with taste. We ended our time with her by “forest bathing,” where we all laid in the moss and blueberry bushes (which was actually quite comfortable) and just relaxed. It left us feeling rejuvenated and ready for the rest of the day.

In the afternoon, we headed to Singӧ, a nearby island at the top of the Stockholm Archipelago. After a quick box lunch of salmon or tofu (depending on diet items), we met up with Gabriel Liljenström, a Singӧ local and a teacher and consultant. He brought us many local foods to try, such as rye bread and pickled herring, black licorice, dried mackerel, cookies, sea buckthorn and gooseberry juice! Then we set out into the woods for a tour of the Singӧ School Forest and a forest talk. When we parted ways, we walked around the forest a little more, brainstorming and planning for our community art project that we are starting next week.

Many of us then spent the evening making dinner, working on projects, and hanging out in the community house. It was a pretty relaxing day before heading into our free weekend.

(Post provided by Paige Harsevoort, Image by Tara Bal)

Today was full of adventure! We started off the morning by loading up the vans and traveling to the home of Örjan Grönlund, a family forest landowner and a Sustainability Coordinator for Mellanskog, a forest owners association. We learned so much about his life and how he manages and maintains his forest. The thing that stood out to me most was a quote from him, “I wish I had more time. If I had more time, I wouldn’t have to pay people to do the job for me.” It stuck out to me because it made me realize that there are so many things he could have said he wanted more of (such as more time to plant more trees), but he chose time. It reminded me that we need to appreciate and cherish what we have and take care of the things we care about.

After visiting, he gave us a tour of his family’s house (which was amazing), then we got back in the vans and drove toward the Baltic Sea for lunch. We ate on the cliffs, watching a gorgeous scene of laughing gulls and frothy waves. Although it was quite windy, it was nice to have such a good view for lunch!

Once lunch was over, we went back to the folkhogskola to sit with Simon Sjostrom, an artist that specializes in decomposing animals and radio waves. It was a very special experience to get to ask and answer questions and have good conversations with him. His works are unique pieces of life, death, and endless possibilities.

The day went by fast, and was full of good forest walks and conversations!

(Post and image provided by Reznor Kleber)

After disembarking from the Kolarbyn Eco-lodges our group took a 3 hour car ride to Väddö, a small village on the eastern side of Sweden. Sadly, it was quite a gloomy and rainy day so we were not able to go see the town, and instead settled into our rooms at the Folkhögskola (“Folk Highschool”, similar to a community college).

Each “dorm room” has two separate bed-rooms, equipped with a desk, TV, and, of course, a bed (a very comfy one I might add). After unloading bags and quickly freshening up from our couple days of wilderness-living, we met up for a group dinner of traditional Swedish meatballs. Following dinner was a short-but-sweet tour of the school and its facilities, before everyone, exhausted and full of food, headed back to the rooms for some much needed rest time.

The island of Väddö and this Folkhögskola are nice and homey and I can’t wait to see the town tomorrow!