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TREE IN THE SHADOW OF STADIUM SET TO FEATURE IN EXHIBITION

Reporter DWARFED by the Gallowgate end of St James’ Park, a tree is a modest fixture in the Newcastle cityscape.

As 50,000 fans roll up for Newcastle’s crucial match against Swansea this afternoon, the tree is lost amid the surge of supporters towards the ground.

But, despite being overshadowed by the stadium, it will have its moment in the sun as one of seven trees from the city chosen to feature in an exhibition at the Great North Museum in Newcastle from January 20 to March 24.

The exhibition, titled The Long View, follows a tree trail over several years by photographer Rob Fraser and his writer wife Harriet. The couple, from Cumbria, spent five years locating seven trees for their project in the county’s wide-open landscapes.

There then followed two years of visiting the trees in all seasons, weather, day and night, and photographing, writing about them and leading 350 people on public walks to the different sites.

“The trees had to be visually interesting, stand out, their location was important, and they had thrived despite relatively harsh conditions,” says poet Harriet.

“We got to know the trees and the land around them. The exhibition is a celebration of trees.

“We have both loved trees for as long as we can remember and were tree climbers as children.”

The Newcastle trees will join their Cumbrian counterparts in the exhibition.

It comes as more than 3,000 people signed a petition to save trees in danger of being cut down in Gosforth in Newcastle.

The couple, who run the somewherenowhere outdoors creative practice, hope the exhibition will spark debate about questions such as what trees mean to people, what threats they face, what is being done to protect them and increase tree cover, and what trees have “seen” over the years.

And in the case of the St James’ Park tree, how many elated or dejected crowds will it witness as the seasons go by?

“The exhibition celebrates the beauty and value of trees, and explores the way trees are valued, what trees do for us, and the special relationship that people have with trees,” says Harriet.

The exhibition is moving to Newcastle after being on show at the Grizedale Forest gallery in Cumbria.

Choosing trees from the busy, man-made environment of Newcastle, compared to the rural tranquillity and wildness of the Cumbrian locations, presented a different challenge.

“Exploring Newcastle to find seven city trees to feature in the exhibition has been a fascinating process.

“Trees are often invisible, or sidelined, in urban environments, and yet they contribute so much

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More info www.thelon