Tag: Ancient Tree Inventory

Categories
AGM62 Photography Research Project Stage 1 Posts

AGM62 Interim Review Presentation 17 November 2020

In order to showcase what I have researched, collated, and produced so far for the Interim Review, I will have to present:

  • Work-in-progress: considered rough edits of my project to date. If I feel that including contextualised research would be beneficial, I will bring these materials as well.
  • A short project statement: I will be asked to succinctly introduce the project’s underpinning concept and reflecting on my decision making so far in terms of production.

The aim of the mid review is to make possible a critical and safe space where project ideas are articulated in relation to the production (techniques, materials etc). Each student will receive formative, verbal, feedback from tutors (Fergus and Åsa). It is important that I show a broader selection of my work, in order to enable a productive discussion with peers and tutors, for example to do with potential edit and sequencing.

There will be walls and tables for me to present prints. There will also be a screen available for me to use if I have work that is not yet printed.

I will present the following:

Project Statement

Invisible Trees: The Hidden Hawthorns of Bushy Park

My project will focus on the hawthorn trees of Bushy Park. Since starting this line of inquiry, I have discovered that the hawthorn is integral to human history, medicine, religion, culture, mythology, and the environment. I have also looked deeper in the history of Bushy Park and how it is strongly connected with the hawthorn. By focusing on a particular tree within a constricted environment, my intention is to photographically reveal the hidden ‘identities’ of the hawthorns in Bushy Park.

There were two main decisions behind choosing this particular location. Firstly, due to the current lock-down restrictions, it is close to my home and can be reached by foot or bike. The nature of this project means I will need to visit and study my subjects on a regular basis and in different weather conditions. I can also combine outdoor exercise with my photography. Secondly, it is an environment that, although I know well, also recognise there is scope to discover it further both through research and photographically.

My initial plan was to map these trees for the purpose of adding them to the Ancient Tree Inventory. The majority of hawthorns in Bushy Park fit the particular criteria of ‘ancient’, ‘veteran’ or ‘important’, as outlined by the Woodland Trust. As far as I am aware, none of these hawthorn have been recorded and my work could help in this endevour.

With regards to production so far, I have used a mirrorless digital camera for this project in combination with a selection of lenses (24mm-70mm, 35mm and 85mm). I have been converting the original colour images to Black & White. The reason for this choice is that it enables the details and shapes of the trees to be seen. I also purposefully chose to not take images that are usually associated with Bushy Park or hawthorn trees.

My composition choice is to create a portrait of each tree, abstracting it from its environment. I have taken these following shots from a low angle. By doing so, it makes the tree appear much bigger than in reality.

At this stage of the project, I have printed a selection of rough edits on as C-prints on matt paper. My final substrate will be decided on at a later date.

Work In Progress

Edited and Printed Images

In addition to these ‘objective’ portraits, I have taken subjective shots of the trees.

Print Combinations

Un-Printed Rough Edits

Polarising Filter Results

Typology Test

I will also be able to present other unprinted images on screen, if required, and in context with the review.

Contextualised Research

Photographers/Artists

  • Tacita Dean
  • Simon Roberts
  • Minor White
  • Bernd and Hilla Becher
  • Riitta Päiväläinen
  • Jean-Luc Brouard
  • Terry Evans
  • Myoung Ho Lee
  • Rachel Talibart
  • Aubrey Beardsley

I will present the relevant blog posts covering the above, if requested.

In addition, I will present and discuss the following books:

Adams, M. (2018). The Wisdom of Trees. London: Head of Zeus Ltd.

Barnes, M., 2019. Into The Woods. London: Thames & Hudson.

Vaughn, B. (2015). Hawthorn – The Tree That Has Nourished, Healed, And Inspired Through The Ages. New Haven & London: Yale University Press.

Categories
AGM62 Photography Research Project Stage 1 Posts

AGM62 Hawthorn Guide 22 October 2020

If I was to focus on hawthorns for this project, I would need to know exactly what I was looking for and whether it was ancient, veteran or noble.

The following is taken from the Woodland Trust’s species guide to hawthorn, as outlined on their website:

Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) is one of our two native hawthorns. The rare Midland hawthorn (Crataegus laevigata) is confined to ancient woodland in central England but more frequently seen everywhere in its cultivated forms in urban areas, parks and gardens.

Distribution

Throughout the UK.

Typical location

Hedgerows, fields and woodland.

Age

Hawthorn may be able to live for 400 years, although 250 may be more typical on many sites.

All hawthorn will be ancient from 225 years onwards, although many will have ancient characteristics from around 175 years.

Typically a veteran hawthorn will be 100-200 years of age and a notable hawthorn may be 50-150 years old.

Size

Hawthorn can grow up to 2.5m plus in girth.

Record all hawthorn more than 1.5m.

Consider recording all hawthorn with any ancient characteristics more than 1.25m.

It’s important to rely on characteristics rather than size, which is an unreliable indication of age. Most ancient hawthorn will be greater than 1.5m in girth but many hawthorn within woodland, or if historically managed as a pollard, may be no more than 1.25m in girth.

Ancient characteristics

  • Major trunk cavities or progressive hollowing
  • Decay holes
  • Physical damage to trunk
  • Bark loss
  • Large quantities of dead wood in the canopy
  • Crevices in the bark, under branches or on the root plate, sheltered from direct rainfall
  • Fungal fruiting bodies (from heart rotting species)
  • A high number of interdependent wildlife species
  • Epiphytic plants

In addition the tree may have:

  • A pollard form or show indications of past management
  • Cultural or historic value
  • Been part of a historic boundary, hedgerow (pre enclosures) or on a woodbank
  • A prominent position in the landscape

References:

Ati.woodlandtrust.org.uk. 2020. Hawthorn – Ancient Tree Inventory. [online] Available at: <https://ati.woodlandtrust.org.uk/how-to-record/species-guides/hawthorn/&gt; [Accessed 21 October 2020].

Categories
AGM62 Photography Research Project Stage 1

AGM62 Ancient Tree Inventory 20 October 2020

Set up by the Ancient Tree Forum, the Woodland Trust and the Tree Register, the Ancient Tree Inventory is a mapped record of more than 160,000 ancient or old trees within the UK.

The aim of this inventory is to help protect and care for these extraordinary beings that link us mere mortals with our history, culture and ecology.

According to Woodland Trust’s website, the inventory has three categories of trees:

  1. Ancient
  2. Veteran
  3. Notable

I have copied the following information from Woodland Trust’s website as my guide for reference.

Ancient trees

An ancient tree is in the third and final stage of its life. How old an ancient tree is depends on the species. Some species can live longer than others with yews, oaks and sweet chestnuts topping the age charts at over 1000 years.

What is an ancient tree?

How old an ancient tree is depends on the species. Some species can live longer than others with yews, oaks and sweet chestnuts topping the age charts at over 1000 years. Other species, including birch and willow, live shorter lives.

A tree is defined as ancient if it is

  • In the third or final stage of its life (this stage can go on for decades or centuries)
  • Old relative to others of the same species
  • Interesting biologically, aesthetically or culturally because of its great age

What do ancient trees look like?

Ancient trees don’t always look the same, depending on the species and where it grows. But in general, there are several ancient characteristics and the more a tree has the older it’s likely to be.

Key Features:

  • Crown that is reduced in size and height
  • Large girth in comparison to other trees of the same species
  • Hollow trunk which may have one or more openings to the outside
  • Stag-headed appearance (look for dead, bare, antler-like branches in the crown)
  • Fruit bodies of heart-rot fungi growing on the trunk
  • Cavities on trunk and branches, running sap or pools of water forming in hollows
  • Rougher or more creviced bark
  • An ‘old’ look with lots of character
  • Aerial roots growing down into the decaying trunk

Veteran trees

A veteran tree will have some of the features found on an ancient tree, but won’t have the great age. Although they’re not as old as ancient trees, they’re still incredibly important.

What is a veteran tree?

Ancient trees are veteran trees, but not all veteran trees are old enough to be ancient.

Veteran trees are survivors that have developed some of the features found on ancient trees. However, veteran trees are usually only in their second or mature stage of life.

There may be signs of decay, fungal fruiting bodies or dead wood, these features may start to appear in the mature stage and also in traditional pollards.

Although veteran trees aren’t as old or complex as ancient trees, they still provide holes, cavities and crevices which are especially important for wildlife.

Notable trees

Notable trees are usually mature trees which may stand out in the local environment because they are large in comparison with other trees around them.

They don’t have any obvious veteran characteristics, but may be taller than ancients and fatter than some veterans.

In parts of the UK, where trees are less common, a tree may be relatively small and young but notable because it is significant in its local environment.

Notable trees are usually worthy of recognition and can be potential, next generation veteran trees.

Lost trees

These are trees which have already been recorded, but are later discovered to have been cut down, blown over, collapsed, or otherwise removed, leaving no more than a low stump.

A new tree record can’t be added as a lost tree, although it can be recorded as a remnant e.g. stump. The Ancient Tree Inventory will use this information to assess the rate of recent loss of our ancient trees.

A tree originally recorded as a standing dead ancient tree remains this until it’s cut down or is removed; it can then be updated to a lost tree.

If known, the loss will need to be reported then included with the entry.

Also on this website is a very useful guide to the characteristics of each main species of tree: https://ati.woodlandtrust.org.uk/how-to-record/species-guides/.

These set of guides includes the hawthorn: https://ati.woodlandtrust.org.uk/how-to-record/species-guides/hawthorn/. I will be looking at that in more detail in a following post.

Out of curiosity, I looked at the current inventory of trees in Bushy Park.

I can tell just by looking at this map there are several trees fulfilling the three categories that have not been registered. Very interesting.

References

Woodland Trust. 2020. [online] Available at: <https://ati.woodlandtrust.org.uk/; [Accessed 20 October 2020].

Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started