A COLLABORATION will take place between Avon Needs Trees and artist Luke Jerram this winter.

This collaboration will see 365 native trees planted to form a vast living sculpture in the Lower Chew Forest. This publicly accessible new artwork Echo Wood will be formed entirely from living trees.

Over time, its 110-metre-wide design will emerge, featuring pathways and avenues of seasonal blossom guiding visitors through the forest, a central circular gathering space made from 12 English oaks and a living artwork designed to evolve for a century and endure for generations.

Echo Wood is a centrepiece of Lower Chew Forest, a bold new project creating 422 acres of woodland, orchard, wetlands and nature-rich habitats. The land, bought by Avon Needs Trees in 2024, is the charity’s largest site.

As well as reducing local flooding and providing a refuge for wildlife, the trees and the artwork itself will provide a visual symbol in the fight against climate change.

Luke Jerram said: “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.”

In time, sustainably harvested wood from the sculpture will be used in the wider world, continuing the cycle of life.

In the coming weeks, Avon Needs Trees will be announcing ways for members of the public to write their names into the very beginnings of this project.

Luke Jerram is an internationally acclaimed, Bristol-based artist whose multidisciplinary practice spans sculpture, installation and live art projects, having presented more than 900 exhibitions worldwide.

He is best known for his giant sculptures of the Earth and Moon exhibited around the globe, as well as the ‘Park and Slide’ waterslide down Park Street, Bristol, and the street pianos he installed across the city.