Sam Williams Studio – Stories of 1000 Trees
Artist(s) / collaborators: Sam Williams Studio / Blunt & Brave 

Overview  

Stories of 1000 Trees is proposed as a national storytelling project inspired by long-held landscape storytelling traditions. It will weave a national tapestry of stories, each thread a personal connection to a meaningful tree.  Responding to the loss of the Sycamore Gap tree, the project aims to spark vital dialogue on how our identities are a part of nature, urging everyone to reconnect deeply to the soulful presence of trees in our lives. 

What the Artist will Create 

The nation would be invited to share stories of the trees they love through a dynamic website. Alongside this, Sam Williams Studio and the Story Stewards will curate a selection of powerful stories that reflect the emotional, cultural, and environmental significance of trees in people’s lives. The goal is to gather at least one thousand stories. The culmination of the project will be the unveiling of a unique artwork at Sycamore Gap during Beltane (the Gaelic May Day Festival) which is the start of summer and celebrated in May when the new shoots are just appearing.  

The artwork, titled Story Chambers, whose curved ribs echo the form of the Sycamore Gap tree, invite visitors to step inside and experience some of these stories. These sculptural shelters, proposed to be built from Sycamore Gap wood & other complementary materials, enable people to encounter a changing chorus of real tree stories, held in sound and text.

How People will be Involved 

The project will gather a rich, diverse archive of lived experiences and connections to nature through the collection of stories online, welcoming broad national participation. Communities and youth groups from local towns, villages, and cities will be invited to contribute to the project through creative workshops which will be led by local Story Stewards, aged 18–30, who will be empowered by green‑skills and storytelling training. 

Use of the Sycamore Gap Wood 

Sycamore Gap will become the physical and symbolic centre of the project. The proposed Story Chambers will be installed, subject to planning consent, temporarily on or near the site, allowing visitors to experience a collection of the stories and experiences collated from across the country, while standing in the landscape that inspired the project. The form of the structure, with curved ribs, will recall the silhouette of the original tree. Using materials from the tree itself (where appropriate and permitted) will deepen the continuity between past and future, remembrance and renewal. 

Legacy and Long-Term Impact 

The story archive will provide a lasting record to deepen our understanding of how nature stories change behaviour. It will support future research and community engagement around storytelling, identity, and environmental care. The Story Chambers could tour nationwide, so that the echo of Sycamore Gap can continue inspiring care for nature across the UK.

Stories of 1000 Trees will transform the unique impact of the tree’s felling into a hopeful, shared act. Its legacy is to remind people that if we want to change the world, we must harness the power of storytelling…one tree, one voice, one story at a time.