Echo Wood
With overwhelming public support, many of the trees of Echo Wood found their homes during the 25/26 planting season. Now, we need your help to get the final trees in the ground this coming winter. Could you help us finish the artwork by sponsoring one of the final trees?
The finished artwork will comprise 365 native trees, forming a vast 110-metre-wide design. Blossoming at different times of year, pathways and avenues will guide visitors through the forest towards a central circular gathering space, formed from 12 English oak trees.
There is still time to make sure you or your loved ones can become part of this unique artwork and its story. Your support would not only help to complete the artwork, but help with the ongoing care and establishment of the wider forest.
The Vision - Lower Chew Forest
This living sculpture is part of Lower Chew Forest, a bold new project creating 422 acres of new woodland, orchard, wetlands and nature-rich habitats between the villages of Compton Dando and Hunstrete, Somerset.
“It’s amazing to have the opportunity to create an artwork that will take decades to fully form, but will last for hundreds of years and bring joy to generations of visitors.” — Luke Jerram
The trees planted for the artwork will grow alongside an expansive and beautiful new forest, providing refuge for wildlife and stand as a powerful symbol in the fight against climate change.
As part of our healthy woodland management process, we will use ancient techniques such as pollarding and coppicing to extend the life of the trees. When we do, the wood we remove from the living trees of Echo Wood will be used for educational and creative projects. In many years time, as the trees age, mature and possibly reach the end of their natural lives, they will be replanted to continue the cycle of growth and rebirth.
Working with schools and the local community we hope this artwork will inspire the next generation of people to care about the environment and the planet. We hope Echo Wood will be a legacy for everyone involved.
Why do we need projects like this?
The West of England is one of the most nature-depleted areas of the UK, which itself is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. We are a nation of nature lovers and yet we are facing severe biodiversity loss impacting our wildlife and beautiful green spaces.
The effects of climate change in the Chew Valley are felt most acutely in regular severe flooding, severely impacting the day to day lives of people and businesses across the area.
Lower Chew Forest will offer a solution to many of these challenges, providing natural flood protection and improving water quality. It will be a place where nature will recover and thrive. For people, it will be a place to enjoy, to reflect and learn.
Be part of the artwork - create a living legacy
Echo Wood is a vital opportunity for action.
Last winter, public support of Echo Wood powered our biggest planting season ever – 70,000 new trees established at Lower Chew Forest. But creating and establishing a new woodland takes time, long term care and protection to make sure these young trees get the best possible start in life.
With just a few trees in Echo Wood left to sponsor – your ongoing support will help us not only finish the artwork but also ensure the trees of the wider forest get the after care they need to reach their full potential.
Sponsoring a tree as part of Echo Wood is an opportunity to be part of a historic artwork, joining a community creating a living legacy. In doing so, you will also be taking tangible action for nature and climate, helping create a project that will benefit local communities and wildlife for generations to come.
A message to the future
From the trees sponsored so far, we know that for many of you Echo Wood is about passing a message of hope from one generation to the next.
That’s why we’ve launched a unique time capsule that will be buried at the centre of the artwork. The stainless steel acorn, made by artist Michael Turner, will be filled with the community’s thoughts and hopes for the future, as well as a shared pledge for nature and images of the landscape as it is now.
The acorn will be dug up 50 years from the time of burial for new generations to read more about community motivations to support the project, and the landscape they will inherit.
Check back here and across our socials for more information on where the acorn will be visiting on its mini-tour before the burial ceremony, which will also soon be announced.
About Echo Wood
The initial idea of Echo Wood came about when Luke Jerram read about Avon Needs Trees’ plans to create the South West largest new woodland in a generation, Lower Chew Forest.
Luke was intrigued by the idea of a work of art that would develop and evolve over a remarkably long time period, potentially across many generations. His initial inspiration for the design came from the circles that naturally appear in nature at every scale, from the orbits of the planets, ripples in a pond, right down to the shape of the human iris.There was the possibility of converging walkways and a meeting space at the centre, a place to reflect and learn, to come together to meet and celebrate.
Following the public launch of the project in the winter of 2025/26 this unique artwork has gone on to receive widespread support and acclaim. Avon Needs Trees have been thrilled to welcome journalists from The Guardian, the BBC and many others onto site.
Last winter, the generous support of the public powered Avon Needs Trees’ biggest planting season ever – with 70,000 new trees being established at Lower Chew Forest alone.
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