The archive of the trees
This Arts Council England funded project has been organised by Fermynwoods Contemporary Art. It was based at Fineshade Wood, Northamptonshire, which is managed by the Forestry England.
This inclusive project has a comprehensive separate website but here is some information about the project, which combines sited Tree Wraps (see below right) with Tree Banners, presented in an indoor space (see video below)
Edwina invited Swansea University’s UK Oak Project team to collect and analyse very small cores from healthy mature trees in Fineshade Wood – the samples didn't harm the trees (see above top).
The cores reveal the tree’s age, growing patterns, past weather conditions and stresses such as diseases. In effect, they are the tree’s own archive: each specimen reveals its ‘autobiography’.
Fineshade Wood is a remnant of the much larger ancient Rockingham Forest, so there is a long regional history of human and arboreal lives being intertwined. Edwina reflects this by inviting forest residents, foresters, local groups and Fineshade visitors to contribute their observations about both the Wood’s trees and unusual weather they’ve experienced in the area both now and spanning previous decades.