Among the Ashes
A vibrant mirror of light and shadow
We Ash trees are extremely resistant.
We can tolerate heat and drought like only a few trees can.
But resistance will not save us from collapse.
Our extinction is being driven by a fungus that seems to love the heat even more than we do.
Our feathery foliage, our shoots and our wood are colonised by countless fungal spores.
The fungus in us costs us a lot of strength and energy.
We have no means of defence.
So first our shoots and our crown die, until one day, we fall over from exhaustion.
I am still young.
I stand in the shade of the old Willow.
I have energy to grow.
I don't yet feel the fungus inside me.
A privilege for which I am grateful.
When I am fertile one day, grow seeds and let the wind propel them into the world, it is my wish that they will be seeds of change.
Seeds that give my descendants resilience.
Seeds that tell a story of transformation.
Seeds that honour the resistance of my ancestors.
Seeds that stand for the survival of my species.
We cannot fight collapse with quick answers.
You and I are invited to find strengths within us that are seemingly not from this world.
In moments of hopelessness, come to me, look up and be enchanted by how my leaves play with light and shadow.
They give you an invisible rain of love and affluence.
Enjoy the rain today because tomorrow is always uncertain.
With a heartfelt gratitude to the wind, the horse and the many wonderful birds, who have contributed their voices to the audio story: Blackbird, Blackcap, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Greenfinch, and Wren.
Hearted in Gerswalde, between the beautiful Uckermark Lake District and the Schorfheide-Chorin Biosphere Reserve. I pay respect to the elders of the land and the waterways. I honour the past, present and future.