Splendid Be the Earth

Solastalgia is the distress caused by losing our beloved landscapes. How will we mourn the ice?Mats Söderlund first hiked to the Helags massif, Sweden, in 1976, aged eleven. In 2022, he could see how the glacier had shrunk. The Nordic region is warming quicker than the rest of the planet, and Mats shows us how an increase of 3°C looks and feels. Wet snow no longer crunches under shoes… lakes aren't freezing for long enough… summer meadows are turning yellow.Mats talks to those who depend on the landscape, including reindeer herders and small-scale farmers. He weaves in the perspectives of scientists, natural historians, poets and philosophers to understand new feelings of solastalgia at this environmental change.The losses we face today – not just ice caps and species, but also languages and cultures – are happening at a speed that can make us blind to them. By remembering beloved landscapes in detail, we give ourselves the space to grieve.Mats opens our eyes and urges us to look at what we're losing – and to save what’s left while there is still time.