Trees, Folklore & Spirituality

About this event

Explore the rich folklore of Britain’s trees and woodlands. Followed by Q&A. Trees are among the oldest companions of human life. They shelter spirits, witness history, mark boundaries, provide places of justice, and inspire stories that become rooted in the landscapes around us, transforming them into places of memory, healing and belonging. From the ancient yews of Kingly Vale and sacred groves, to the haunted forests and the imagined landscapes of Winnie-the-Pooh, Dr Helen Cornish dives into how treelore connects people, places, and stories. She considers the less familiar histories of trees, asking how colonial expansion, botanical exchange, and imperial extraction reshaped both landscapes and ideas about nature. The folklore of trees reminds us that landscapes are made not only of ecosystems and environments, but also of memory, imagination and the enduring relationships between people and place. Bringing together folklore, history and anthropology, Dr Helen Cornish explores how trees are more than features of the landscape: they are living witnesses through which people remember the past, imagine the future, and continually remake their relationships with the more-than-human world. Doors open at 7pm , talk starts at 7:30pm - come down early to grab a good seat! Anthropologist Dr Helen Cornish is a lecturer on the MA in Folklore Studies at the University of Hertfordshire. She is a co-founder of NAoHH (Network for an Anthropology of History and Heritage). Her research and publications have focused on contemporary Witchcraft, where the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic in Cornwall has been a key research site. Wider interests address Cornish folk festivals, Ghost Tours, and folklore and ecologies. This talk is 16+ ⭐ Seed Talks have done an incredible job at making insanely cool topics easily digestible and enjoyable to learn about for ones self improvement. It's like Ted Talks, but cooler? And more accessible! - Eva W ⭐ I've attended a few of your talks over the past few months and have absolutely loved them so first of all thank you so much for bringing joy and understanding to the world of neuroscience. - Joe F