Reflecting on: Ash Rise panel discussion

7 May 2025: Inspired by the Ash Rise exhibition, the Green Tease held in Inverness Museum and Art Gallery brought together people working across forestry, craft and culture.

Ash Rise exhibition

Ash Rise celebrates the ash tree and highlights the effects of ash dieback, a fungal disease that may kill up to 75% of ash trees across Scotland and is already visibly and permanently changing the landscape. In a collective response to the threat, the exhibition was established by the Scottish Furniture Makers Association (SFMA), in partnership with Scottish Forestry and The Association of Scottish Hardwood Sawmillers (ASHS), with financial support from Scottish Forestry and Creative Scotland.

The exhibition toured to Inverness Museum and Art Gallery between March and May 2025 and showcased new pieces of furniture, art and craft made using timber from diseased ash trees felled in Killearn in Stirlingshire. It featured a vast diversity of work by 20 Scottish furniture makers, makers and designers: from a five-meter kayak and agricultural hand tools to steam-bent chairs and sculptural vessels.

Connecting arts and forestry

Inspired by the exhibition, the initial prompt for the Green Tease panel discussion, organised in collaboration with the SFMA, was the role of arts in communicating the cultural significance of landscapes at risk. The discussion also served as an opportunity for representatives from SFMA, Scottish Forestry and ASHS to reflect on the legacy of the exhibition in connecting arts and cultural practices and the forestry sector.

The panellists included:

• Tom Addy, a furniture maker based in the Cairngorms National Park. A committee member of the SFMA, Tom was the instigator and creative director of the Ash Rise exhibition and documentary film.
• Ros Wardman, Forest Industries Advisor at Scottish Forestry. Ros started her working career as a freelance stage manager in theatre and opera. In 2005 she swapped the wooden boards of the stage for real trees and studied forestry.
• Mark Councill, director of Logie Timber and member of ASHS. From responsible forestry on the Logie Estate to selling finished timber products, Logie Timber pioneers (re)localised and sustainable sawmilling.

Panel discussion

Chaired by Pennie Latin-Stuart, a broadcaster, documentary maker and podcaster, the panel discussion touched on varied themes:

• Tom Addy explained the origin of the Ash Rise project was the ‘act of noticing’ diseased trees and landscapes at risk. The conversation returned multiple times to these ‘acts of noticing’ in the exhibition outreach and legacy. For example, Ros Wardman described the Ash Rise learning journeys with Outdoor and Woodland Learning Scotland which ‘connected the dots’ of woodland ecosystems for young people aged 3-16. One legacy of the ‘act of noticing’ the beauty and breadth of use for ash is that local authorities have asked Ros for recommendations of local makers who can use diseased and felled trees.
• Tom described the unique way makers and artists can create a ‘future history’ for a dying, diseased tree. This inspired the discussion question: what other ‘future histories’ can makers and artists imagine and co-create?
• The role of creative responses to environmental risks is manifold. Ash Rise has connected people with the science of ash dieback, and there has also been an emotional response to the beauty of the artworks and the story of deep relation with, and understanding of, the material and nature.
• Mark Councill explained that sawmillers are in a unique position to connect the supply chain – from sourcing locally grown wood from responsibly managed woodlands to producing sustainable timber products for local makers, oak framers or architects. These connections could encourage interest in growing and managing biodiverse broadleaf woodlands.

Following the discussion we reflected on the themes in small groups. Alongside an informal creative prompt to write about or draw a beloved tree, woodland or orchard, groups considered other ways arts and cultural practices could build resilience in forestry.

About Green Tease

This event took place as part of the Green Tease events series and network, a project organised by Culture for Climate Scotland, bringing together people from arts and environmental backgrounds to discuss, share expertise and collaborate. Green Tease forms part of our culture/SHIFT programme.