Tree Carving Competition winner
The winning design for a chainsaw carving on campus has been chosen.
The winning design by student, Joely Holder, built from toilet role tubes
The competition, run by the Sustainability Service, sought students, staff and families to design a carving on a standing tree stump located in the centre of campus, between Leeds University Union and The School of Earth & Environment.
Congratulations go to recent Mathematics graduate, Joely Holder, who won the competition with an inspiring model built entirely from toilet roll tubes.
Thom Cooper, Sustainability Programme Officer, said: “Joely’s design truly captured the design brief and the theme of ‘Sustainability – we are international’.
“Joely created a design that divides sections of the tree into key themes, including education and research, global challenges and engagement. It also captures some of our iconic buildings and makes the important connection to our City through an owl.”
Joely’s inspiration for the design comes from the First Nations’ tree carvings that she saw at the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia (UBC) during her year abroad in Vancouver, Canada.
She said: “The image of them stuck with me and they inspired me to take the approach of segmenting the trunk in order to incorporate many different aspects of sustainability at Leeds.
“When it came to creating my design, I wanted to do it in 3D to make my idea clear and to get a better idea of how it would look in real life. Naturally, I wanted to do it in a sustainable way, so reusing toilet rolls seemed like a good idea. I am beyond proud and excited to have won the competition and I can't wait to see the finished carving!”
Entries were of such a high standard, the judging panel decided to take key ideas from some of the runners-up and work with the artist to also incorporate them into the final design.
Runners-up were Rosie Smith, Lauren Maltas, Tilly Jacques and Hue Owen.
Images of these designs can be seen on the Sustainability Service blog, along with a special collection of entries from the Bright Beginnings Childcare Centre.
Local artist Shane Green, also known as the Yorkshire Carver, has been commissioned to interpret the winning design into the tree carving, with work already underway.
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