This project explores the relationship between urban dwellers and urban greenery. The project uses tree bark as a medium, moulded and printed on a postcard as a postmark, which I then sent by post to The London Tree Officers Association (LTOA). I hope my project will add to their database and help their work.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations defines a forest as a continuous area with at least 10% tree canopy cover. Greater London manages more than twice this number of trees (21%). Therefore, London is known as a city in a forest, taking in a massive amount of CO2 absorption. We often take for granted the abundance of oxygen trees bring us while ignoring the emissions they silently take on. However, we should value their presence. As the most common tree in London, the bark of the London Plane tree became my medium to observe how the activities of urban dwellers affect urban trees.

I collected impressions of tree bark in different London locations, for example, industrial, residential, and commercial areas, as the natural environment varies from place to place. For instance, Kings Cross Station has a lot of foot traffic and a high concentration of carbon dioxide, so I was interested in discovering the state of the bark under these conditions. Similarly, I wondered about the effect of industrial areas with high pollution and noise levels or in a park with lots of greenery and high oxygen content; what would be the state of the bark? In a residential area with a high population but low noise levels and perhaps a few small animals inhabiting the area, what would be the state of the bark? In these locations, I covered the surface of the bark with clay to make a mould. Afterwards, using ink, I transferred the imprint of the mould to a postcard. Two copies of the postcard were produced, one for mailing and one for creating a map of the trees studied.