‘Dusk II – Ash Dieback’, monoprint sketch, 22x30cm

‘Dusk II – Ash Dieback’ has now been sold as a prize for the 2024 Friends of the Dart Crowdfunder.

Last year in 2023 I did some reduction monoprint sketches of the affected trees on the rewilding plot. The crowns of Ash trees are invariably affected first, from where it spreads inwards and downwards through the vascular system, with younger trees particularly vulnerable.

The true ‘cost’ of Ash dieback disease in the UK will ultimately cost the UK in the region of £15 billion. This figure considers the costs of clearing millions of dead and dying trees from roads and urban areas, as well as functions carried out by trees such as water and air purification, and carbon sequestration. However, the loss of these ecological services will be the biggest cost to society and lays bare the perils of a lax approach to biosecurity.

With resistance only being shown in the Asian variants of the species (as they have evolved alongside the pathogen) estimates suggest that nearly 99% of native specimens in the UK will be lost in the long-term.