What is Every Tree Tells a Story?
We are a collective project, founded in Glasgow, gathering and sharing stories about trees in word, song, image, video and more. Current partners include Glasgow City Council, Strathclyde University, Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow Caledonian University, Thrive Outdoors, and Every Tree’s artists, designers, performers, teachers and poets.
The city is the leading steward of our trees. Our educators have custodianship of Glasgow’s learners. Our artists make meaning of and for the city. But all of us have a story to tell and a role to play in helping trees to help Glasgow.
The project is simple, using community participation to map trees, and record their stories around Glasgow. We hope sharing Glasgow’s tree stories can shape better rooted classes, places, policies, and plantings.
Our Tree Family
Sarah Dodd
I’m Sarah Dodd, Professor of Entrepreneurship at Strathclyde Uni. I’m “back office” at Every Tree usually; analyzing, planning, writing, and supporting. Also thinking. Often while walking with trees.
Trees provide emotional, social, material, cultural, aesthetic and economic value to places and their populations, including people. They play a key role in building thriving future ecosytems, and we’re playing with the idea of “tree-preneurs” to think about this, and change the way we act.
Juliette Wilson
Hi, I’m Juliette Wilson, Professor of Markets and Society at the University of Strathclyde. My work centres on inclusive, grassroots, and community‑led change – essentially, how real change happens when people and place come together.
Every Tree is a great example of that. It highlights the power of working creatively with communities to understand the value of our green spaces—and to help people connect with, celebrate, and speak up for those environments.
Becca Richardson
A ‘Hello’ from Becca, our digital support and Enterprise Fellow at the University of Strathclyde.
What tree are you most like?
I would say a Birch Tree, as I personify them as friendly, quick to laugh, and very social.
Lou Rowland
I am an Artist in Residence, working through my practice to explore relationships between people, place, and the natural world.
My work often centres on creating thoughtful, participatory experiences that invite reflection and connection. Through projects like this, I’m interested in how creative acts can open up new ways of seeing, feeling, and valuing the environments we share.
James Bonner
James Bonner is a Knowledge Exchange Fellow in Physical Activity and Health at the University of Strathclyde, with a focus on how people interact with their environments to support wellbeing. He is particularly interested in creative, participatory approaches that connect individuals to place and shared experience.
He highlights the value of projects like Every Tree, which create reflective, communal moments through simple acts like postcarding- blending process, performance, and tangible outcomes.
Inge Birnie
Inge Birnie is a Senior Lecturer in the Institute of Education at the University of Strathclyde. What she appreciates most about Every Tree are “the lovely people that are involved and the way it has both taken root but also branched out with a range of different projects, people and organisations – becoming richer and stronger as it has grown.”
Kart Tori
Kart is Sustainability Coordinator at Glasgow Caledonian University. She loves Every Tree for
“How it connects different people – just like trees are connected through the wood wide web. My spirit tree is pine. My grandmother taught me that hugging pine trees will bring you energy of luck and abundance.!”
Beth Gallagher
I am a Resident Artist Actor and Producer for Every Tree. Ever since I laid eyes on ETTAS at Glasgow Goes Green 2025: Sustainable Synergies, I knew it was special. I love how ETTAS invites work that’s immersive and alive, where stories can be embodied in real time and nature becomes our stage partner.
What tree are you most like?
Scots Pine. I’ve got rugged mountain energy, thrive near water, and give effortlessly dry, sarcastic vibes.
Carolyn McFarlane
Carolyn McFarlane is the Outdoor and Nature-Based Learning Lead at Thrive Outdoors with Inspiring Scotland, specialising in connecting people to nature through learning and experience.
She champions the role of outdoor environments in shaping memory, wellbeing, and personal growth. She reflects that initiatives like ETTAS help people reconnect with their deep-rooted relationships to trees, unlocking powerful, often forgotten stories tied to place, time, and community.
Prof. Elio Caccavale
I am Professor of Transdisciplinary Design Innovation and Course Lead for the MDes Design Innovation and Citizenship at the Glasgow School of Art, where my work focuses on socially engaged and systems-led design.
I explore how design can reframe relationships between people, place, and the more-than-human world. I love how Every Tree Tells a Story transforms urban trees into recognised “neighbours,” fostering a shared sense of care and ecological citizenship through collective storytelling.
Dr Michael Pierre Johnson
I am an Innovation Leadership Fellow in the Creative Economy and Course Lead for the MSc International Management and Design Innovation at the Glasgow School of Art, where I focus on the intersection of creativity, leadership, and value.
My work explores how innovative, human-centred approaches can shape the way we understand and design for meaningful experiences. I love how a simple act like writing postcards to trees reveals deep insights into how we relate to and value them, while showing how creative and respectful methods can reshape what we value in our places and our lives.
Gillian Dick
Gillian Dick is a Spatial Planning Manager specialising in Research & Development within Glasgow City Council’s Development Plan Group, bringing a strong academic background in Town Planning and Human Geography. She plays a key role in shaping sustainable neighbourhoods and regeneration strategies, helping to guide the city’s long-term spatial development.
Mairi Baker
Mairi Baker is a Quality Improvement Officer dedicated to supporting meaningful progress across curriculum development, leadership, pupil participation, and Learning for Sustainability.
She is passionate about empowering schools and educators to create inclusive, forward-thinking environments where both learners and staff can thrive.
Every Tree Tells a Story 