Students in Forres are promoting the connections between our community and local woods as part of their course.
Nine Design Innovation and Environmental Design postgraduates from Glasgow School of Art’s (GSA) Highland campus on the Altyre Estate recently engaged 25 residents at Forres Town Hall, asking ‘How does everyday life connect with the forest?’.
The drop-in at Forres Town Hall promoted and researched locals’ connections with our woods.
A spokesperson explained: “We are focused on engaging with nature and appreciating the culture and imagination of forests, as well as understanding forests as a resource.
“At the town hall, we used storytelling cards to encourage users to create and exchange forest stories to better understand the cultural traditions of connection to nature in Scotland.
“We also used the afternoon to see how they could be improved.”
The students’ cards were based on research of the town and its forest connections. As well as helping to better understand where local woodlands are and how they are used, they are supporting the development of proposals to make further connections or strengthen existing ones.
Moray is proportionally the most forested region in Scotland. The area’s people have a history of forest-based industry, including current businesses Logie Timber as well as James Jones and Sons timber processing.
Cards used to help the students’ research.The nine course participants at the town hall.
All nine students visited the saw mill at Logie, met representatives of re-wilding charity Trees for Life, and talked to local furniture maker Sam Chinnery as well as storyteller Margot Henderson.
The students are in three groups: the nature group is developing invitations for people to find a place, plant or animal; the culture group is looking at how the forest is a resource for craft or industry; and the third group is finding out how stories can be gathered and shared.
The focus of the Design Innovation and Environmental Design course is the potential for design to shape how people interact with the spaces we inhabit.
Participating students learn about tools and processes used to research particular demographics and environments, developing prototype and test proposals based on how people use and feel about that specific these places.