Between The Trees is the vision of two educators, Andrew Thomas and Dawn Wood. We had noticed time and time again that students were becoming increasingly unmotivated and we felt that this was largely due to an increasing disconnect from the natural world. The way that we were living our lives, regarding education, work and leisure meant that people were more connected to their screens, and that included us. Modern life has become far more stressful and less about community, conversation and those activities that improve our well-being, both physical and mental.
We had a passion to do something to address this so, in 2014, Between The Trees was born.
With its unique theme of nature & science, the festival aims to reconnect people to the natural world. It features a blend of original indie folk music, art and spoken word within a community that embraces all and encourages thinking and creativity. We couldn’t have found a more suitable site – Merthyr Mawr National Nature Reserve is one of Wales’ Sites of Special Scientific Interest and is a haven for wildlife, with its magical woodland areas, magnificent sand dunes and the sea beyond.
“We often forget that we are nature. Nature is not something separate from us. So, when we say that when we have lost our connection to nature, we have lost our connection to ourselves.”
Andy Goldsworthy
