Those
who know the London Borough of Sutton may be surprised by my title.
I
am stretching the meaning of the word forest
a little. The part of Sutton I live in was chalk downland until the
beginning of the last century. It is really part of the S E
conurbation.
Some
delude themselves, perhaps a mental continuity from the sheep who
used to be here, and have been known to call the newsagent, barber's,
nail studio, fish and chip shop and various restaurants at the bottom
of the hill I live on, “the village”.
But
there is an article on Wikipedia which makes an associative
connection: “As with cities, depending on various cultural
definitions, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in
size and have different classifications according to how and what of
the forest is composed.
I
propose here, as part of my larger FOREST project to consider the
diversity of objects and processes that we find in the unacknowledged
Forest of Sutton.
No
drunk moose wandering but plenty of dangerous motor cars. It's a
dangerous area over all. (See references in my Wire Sculptures
(1995, 2003).
It's
a nasty area (see references in my Next door
(2010)). And getting nastier.
I
propose to examine the management of this forest, management policies
and so on.
How
long I shall have the enthusiasm for this is another matter; it's
something most of us try to forget and only a few
bleat; but whatever I get done will be background reading at least
for the larger project.
I
welcome comments, especially from anyone who knows this area.
As
Wikipedia tells us: “A typical forest is composed of the overstory
and the understory.” I shall consider both to some extent. (I have
made a start on the understory with Next Door.
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