For the last eight months I have been making work as part of a commission by Beaford and Devon Wildlife Trust as a response to Ash Dieback. The work forms part of the DWT’s, ‘Saving Devon’s Treescapes Project’, which was initiated as a response to Ash Dieback. The work is ongoing and over the coming years I will continue to document the changing landscapes in Devon. The first year of the project has been completed and my edit of pictures is live on my website.
This is the first photographic work that has been commissioned for consideration in the Beaford Archive in over 30 years. The Beaford Archive contains over 80,000 images of Devon, best known for James Ravilious’s contribution.
The spores of the fungus are carried on the wind, travelling for miles, silent and unseen looking for a host. They fall from the sky, first sticking to the leaves and then penetrating deep inside the tree. Once colonised, the fungus grows inside the tree blocking its water transport systems and eventually causing the tree to die. The Fungus which causes Ash Dieback originated in Asia where the native species are resistant to the disease. The first recorded case of the fungus in the UK was in 2006, having made its way to Europe on imported trees. Since then the disease has slowly been spreading and evidence of dieback can now be seen across Britain. However, we are only at the beginning of the epidemic and it is estimated that over the next ten to fifteen years Ash Dieback will eventually kill around 80% of the ash trees in the UK.
The Ash Tree is one of the most common trees in the United Kingdom. Their loss will be devastating for habitats and the natural environment and it is predicted to cost £15 billion to manage the dieback.
This last year has shown us that the relationship between humans and the natural world feels like it is at a tipping point, with the Climate Crisis, Environmental Pollution, Covid and Ash Dieback all manifestations of our destructive presence on the earth.
