I love trees! Not only are they beautiful to look at, trees provide food and shelter for humans and for wildlife; trees release oxygen and clean our air by absorbing greenhouse gases; trees help reduce flooding and water pollution, and stabilise ground at risk of erosion; trees are the source of many medicines; trees provide income for a huge number of the world’s people; and so much more.

Each year I like to set myself a photographic challenge and, in 2015, my project has been to photograph a tree (or trees) every day for the whole year. These are two of those images.

Spending so much time with trees this year has brought me enormous pleasure. The Japanese have a term for walking in the woods that I particularly like – it’s shinrin yoku, which literally  means ‘forest bathing’. I think the world would be a much better place if we all bathed regularly in forests.