The Word for World is Forest: Imagining Trees Through Art and Climate Ficti

The Word for World is Forest is an immersive, hands-on workshop for adults and young people aged 15 and above, exploring the deep connections between creativity, storytelling and the living world. At its heart lies a simple yet powerful question: what stories do trees tell—and how might we, through art and climate fiction, listen and respond?

Blending the tactile and the textual, participants create with their hands and shape meaning with their words. Trees are reimagined not only as subjects of our stories but as collaborators—co-authors in crafting more rooted, hopeful futures. Rather than focusing on polished outcomes, The Word for World is Forest celebrates shared process: a space for thinking and feeling together through both text and texture, cultivating connection rather than perfection.

Participants begin with a sensory grounding—listening to, touching, and reflecting on the textures of trees. Short readings from climate fiction texts spark writing prompts and speculative responses. These written “seeds” grow into visual and tactile creations using natural and recycled materials—collage, ink, or mixed media.

The workshop borrows its title from Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Word for World is Forest (1972), echoing its invitation to imagine more reciprocal relationships between humans and the living world, though our focus and process are entirely our own.

Daniela Dora – in collaboration with Stepanka Facerova, Mansi Shouche and James W Norton.

Daniela Dora is an affiliated lecturer in German Studies at the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics and Director of Studies in Modern Languages at Lucy Cavendish College, University of Cambridge.

Stepanka Facerova, (MA Fine Art at Cambridge School of Art, Anglia Ruskin University). Stepanka questions our social habits, the necessity of routine, as well as the need for constant change.

Mansi Shouche is a multimedia visual artist exploring ecology, cultural identity, and belonging through natural materials and ancient South Asian craft practices, creating contemplative works rooted in environmental care and cultural reflection.

James W Norton is a visual artist, filmmaker, and soundscape designer whose work explores the entanglement of humans, nature, and technology. James' practice often draws on folklore, science fiction, deep time, and environmental adaptation to create poetic encounters with changing worlds.

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Host or Publisher Cambridge Festival