Westonbirt Interpretive Seating
Celebrating the Silk Wood Community Planting Project
A playful, narrative-driven bench that brings stories of loss, growth, and community resilience to life.
We partnered with Ed Brooks Furniture and illustrator Mark Ruffle to design and install a bespoke, narrative-driven seating installation for the Silk Wood Community Planting Project (SWCPP) at Westonbirt Arboretum.
Positioned at the heart of a new woodland where approximately 9,000 trees replace those lost to Ash Dieback, the bench encircles a newly planted Wild Service tree. Crafted from a fallen Westonbirt Oak, the structure physically embodies the landscape's history. Its root-like 'nibs' represent an organic root system, while the internal timber slats mirror the growth rings of the lost ash trees.
To convey this journey of loss and regeneration, a series of 'storyboard stumps' sit at the end of the nibs. Acting as narrative chapters, they invite visitors to move around the bench. Etched directly into the wood are bespoke illustrations that chronicle the woodland's past and look forward to its future.
The narrative and visual language for these illustrations was co-created with a focus group of people who were part of the planting project. By translating their lived experiences into etched imagery, the bench stands not just as a piece of furniture, but as a living archive of community action and ecological resilience.
Client
Date
Installed July 2026
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