A beautiful solution to some ugly problems, this is a Civic Society Big Green Week event organised by Tony Darpino, Frank Drake and Clive Stevens. Bristol is full of trees, some planted by former benefactors, some are remnants of fine gardens now vanished, others naturally seeded by insects or birds or the wind.
Bristolians live cheek-by-bark with their ‘daily forest’, so familiarly that it can easily pass unnoticed. Our speakers will raise your consciousness of the poetic and aesthetic aspects of Bristol’s trees and then show how improving our urban tree canopy could also make a significant contribution to mitigating the effects of climate change and to improving public health. Finally, they will show how you can make a difference in an arboreal vision for the future.
Tony D’Arpino is a San Francisco poet and writer now living in Bristol. He was a forest explorer from early youth. His first book of poetry was entitled The Tree Worshipper. Other books include The Shape of The Stone, Seven Dials, Greatest Hits, and Floating Harbour. His poem ‘Pero’s Bridge’ appears in the current anthology The Echoing Gallery: Bristol Poets and Art In The City (Redcliffe Press)
Frank Drake left school at 14 and retired shortly afterwards to travel and work all over the world. His CV encompasses starting Bristol’s cinema club ‘The Filmpit’; Official Photographer for WOMAD in “Sounds of Music” (Tangent Books); collaboration on “Advanced Portrait Photography” (Blandford Press); the first graffiti exhibition, Arnolfini Gallery ; and “The Pyramid” – a substantial sculpture representing free speech and sustainability to be erected in Belfast 2015. He now has a BA and is working on an MA.
Clive Stevens is chair of Bristol’s Tree Forum, a volunteer organisation in its sixth year. It is dedicated to improving our urban tree canopy to mitigate the effects of climate change and to improve public health. Clive is also a businessman, angel investor and a part time lecturer at Bath University’s Engineering Department. In his spare time he reviews every single planning application in Bristol and will comment if it affects trees.
7.30 pm , Friends Meeting House, 126 Hampton Rd, BS6 6JE Non-members £5 Members £2 (voluntary) Booking Not Required