Dambo’s Trolls Fight For Nature, But The Town Council Majority Doesn’t Listen

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Last week Danish recycle artist Thomas Dambo unveiled two giant trolls that he has installed in Ninigret Park. Dambo says he creates trolls because they have always been protectors of our forests. He has created over 100 of these mythical creatures in 17 countries, each with a different story, but Danbo says they are here to teach.

Dambo’s message is that the world is running out of resources. His trolls lure people out into the woods where there is soil, sun, water, and trees, and it is through the “wind and the whispers of nature” that his trolls speak.

Quoted in a recent Providence Journal article, Dambo said “I make trolls because, in my stories, trolls are the unspoken voice of the animals and the plants. My stories are about the conflict between humanity and nature. Humans are the most invasive species on the planet. We take up more and more and more space. Somebody has to fight for nature, the plants and animals. That’s what my trolls do.”

This message is especially appropriate for Charlestown which has amazing natural resources of national and statewide importance that are being negatively impacted by overdevelopment, but it’s a message that the Charlestown Town Council majority is not likely to hear or understand.

While Danbo’s trolls fight for the natural world, the Town Council majority is:

  • Blocking important land preservation efforts
  • Resisting protection of our beautiful night sky
  • Proposing changes to zoning that negatively impact our groundwater and drinking water
  • Increasing developers’ rights above those of neighbors and the environment
  • Promoting increased housing density that will pollute our coastal ponds and inland freshwater ponds
  • Creating an adversarial relationship with the US Army Corps of Engineers who are cleaning up contaminated sites in Ninigret Park to make the park safer for both people and wildlife
  • Supporting activities that interfere with the mission of the Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge
  • and lots more …

Embracing the marketing and commercial growth potential of Trolls while ignoring their message of land and wildlife conservation is especially cynical.

You can learn more about Thomas Dambo and his message of conservation at his website https://www.thomasdambo.com/

Pictured below and in the banner image is Greta Granite, one of two Dambo trolls installed in Ninigret Park last week. Thank you to John Van Slyke for the photos. Click on any image to open a slide show.