Arboricultural Association 2024 - Day 1
Warwick Woodland Words I
…I am brimming with energy
I am overlooked but innately powerful energy
in my form of a child
I am the child
whose passion for trees came from a conker
which after years of being lost
no idea what they wanted to do
found the arb industry
and became a student
I am a new student
and I find myself in darkness
seeking new roots
an opportunity for new generation
I am regeneration
the flame and the regrowth
I give back all I have taken
underground safe
are the mycelium
I am an eekie squeaky mycelium-y mushroom
and who is growing next to me?
a ginko
I am ginko
ancient but young
I survived conflict
but represent peace
and…
I am celebrating all that is connected in life
I am a ceder
everything about me is connected
to the soil and the life around me
I am cedar
my life runs in a cycle
distinct from other trees
and other ceders
as an individual
I am an individual
that is apprehensive and excited
as a waiting parent
I am a waiting parent
watching the colours change
and experiencing autumn again
under the oaks
amongst the fallen leaves
acorns and galls
I am a gall
once I promised to be an ordinary acorn
the new life of the tree
I am the life of this tree
I am the silent force
of THIS FOREST
I am this forest
I am here
I am a part of here
I am brimming with energy
I am overlooked but innately powerful energy…
Authors
A collaborative place-based story from the Arboricultural Association’s annual Amenity Conference, crafted in Warwick, on Monday 09 September 2024, between 16:45 and 17:45 BST, by Lotte Dijkstra, and the more-than-human conference delegates present.
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WOODLAND
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WORDS
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WARWICK
• WOODLAND • WORDS • WARWICK
For a moment, we took a step outside of the conference venue. We investigated the urban forest on the campus of Warwick University, using our bodies, personal stories, and collaborative place explorations. During and after each exercise, we recorded our responses. The Warwick Woodland Words share the stories we uncovered.