Ode to the Ash Tree Poetry Project

Ode to the Ash Tree Poetry Project was run by Courage Copse Creatives CIC.

I was honoured to be asked to make the 20 community poems into short films. You can see the films below.

A legacy for the dying Ash Trees…

Here are some words from Katy Lee, Co-founder of Courage Copse Creatives.

“The Ash trees are dying.

Travelling around North Devon, or indeed most places in England, you will see Ash trees everywhere – in our hedgerows, parks, gardens and woodlands. The fungal disease, Ash Dieback, is predicted to kill between 80 – 90% of them. So, before they disappear, while they are still here, Ode to the Ash Tree Poetry Project is a small tribute to the Ash trees. To celebrate them. To give them a good send off.

Members of the community were invited to submit poems on the theme on Ash trees – anything to do with them – their physical appearance, myths and folklore, practical uses or the disease itself.

Five workshops accompanied the project, four for primary-aged children and one for adults.

A poetry pen pal scheme was set up between Eastleigh Care Home residents and pupils from South Molton Community Primary School, which produced eleven collaborative poems.

In total fifty-six poems were submitted.

Forty were longlisted and appear in a book.

Twenty shortlisted poems were made into films and were used to create an interactive poetry map for South Molton Community Woodlands.”