REVIEW BY FRANK NICKLASON
The One Tree Project
Directed by Helen Cameron
Tasmanian filmmaker Helen Cameron's documentary The One Tree Project is a fine work that deserves to become a cult film. Its power is that it is not a polemical piece.
The One Tree Project was conceived by a visionary group which sought to avoid the negativity which has too often characterised the long-running and divisive forestry debate in Tasmania. A "woodchip grade" stringy bark was obtained from a Forestry Tasmania clear-felling operation in southern Tasmania. Its estimated value as woodchips was $350 to $450. Instead of turning it into woodchips, alternative uses were found.
Cameron's 24-minute film captures the rationale for and spirit of attempting such a project in a fascinating array of interviews with the participating woodworkers, craftspeople and artists. She follows the process from felling through to the finished products — valued at over $10,000.
One project team member has coined the term "ecocide" to describe the result of contemporary forestry practice which amounts to conversion of biodiverse native forest into monoculture pulpwood crops, squandering the precious birthright of all Australians, and destroying resource security for timber workers in the value-adding sector of the industry.
The worker who, for me, had the most powerful message was the one who explained that we can avoid getting bogged down between the poles (who get most of the media attention) by using native forest products (from agreed timber production zones) in a way which is not only ecologically sustainable but also respects and showcases the value and beauty of timber.
The works from the One Tree Project include furniture, musical instruments and rustic art, but also some giant timber chips (of the French fries shape). The creator of the latter explained that woodchipping was originally conceived to reduce forest waste following harvesting operations but it is now the dominant product, certainly in terms of volume.
Helen Cameron is heading off on an interstate tour with her film (plus others from her company Moving Lens Production). The film and project pieces are both "must see".
[For information about screenings of The Tree Project visit <http://www.movinglens.earsman.com>. Frank Nicklason is a member of the Doctors for Forests group in West Hobart.]
From Green Left Weekly, June 23, 2004.
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