Magazine from Kaunas ‘Į’ #5: City and Nature

‘The fifth issue of the Į magazine goes out into nature. Half-feral and half-tamed, slightly feathered and a bit furry, extending both under and above the surface, rooted and covered with foliage, it takes you for a walk around Kaunas and beyond. The pages are filled with words about the nature that once was, and the hopes related to the environments to come. The thread of chronology runs through the problems and connects them; the passage of time also allows us to make conclusions. How difficult is it to learn and change along with time?
Compared to the temporal vastness covered by the geological sciences, our lives appear as tiny flashes of time. From a geologist’s perspective, the history of Kaunas takes up only a tiny fraction of our planetary history. As we close our eyes, we can imagine the processes that once gave birth to volcanoes, the energy of rock movements, and as we open them, we witness the faces of stones embedded right into the city’s buildings or the pavements beneath our feet. Their surfaces hide stories many millions of years old. <...>
We should also say a few words on the evolution of this issue. The idea of having a nature-focused issue was brought to life by a wide array of contributors coming from different backgrounds and disciplines. For some, working with nature means spending time in urban green areas; for others, nature is an object of personal reflections and research. For others still, nature is a realm of discoveries where they can realize their individual visions. The topics were polished during those long virtual discussions during the time of quarantine. Some contributions were selected naturally, others not so much. This issue came to life thanks to the live meetings in natural and gallery spaces, specialist consultations, letters, texts, images, conversations, reviews, and lots of patience. Perhaps, it is not by accident that the word leaf refers to both culture and nature – we hope the readers will nurture their bodies and minds as they leaf through these pages.’

Aurelija Maknytė