When does a tree’s sap start flowing, when do trees get active in the morning, when does their trunk grow most? For a year, the artists of the Anaïs Berck collective collaborated with three Scots Pines in three nature reserves in Flanders, with the intention of designing tree clocks. They recorded their movements using sensors that measure the expansion and contraction of the trunk, CO2 absorption, air temperature and humidity, and sunlight.

Although the three trees live in similar habitats — the sandy and heathland soil of the Kalmthoutse Heide, Bosland National Park, and De Liereman — their internal clocks show significant differences. Should that be surprising?

The project was inspired by the idea of criptime, a notion of time invoked by people for whom normative time often doesn’t meet their needs. A workday from 9 till 5, a route from A to B which should take ten minutes to walk according to the algorithm’s prediction; but also life events that would normally occur, such as living autonomously, getting married, having children.

Therefore, Anaïs Berck created an artistic map displaying all the data points, along with the phases of the moon and the seasons. A web app also displays the detailed data for those interested in delving deeper into the observations.

And finally, a tree clerck took the time to communicate with the trees and compiled a diary. It includes unusual days, whether due to tree activity, weather conditions, or the start of a new season. You can request a fragment of the diary via SMS – experimental SMS literature!

The installation runs from Full Moon on 7 Oct to Full Moon on 5 Nov in Constant, Landschap De Liereman, Kalmthoutse Heide/De Vroente, Nationaal Park Bosland/Pijnven.
The map is for sale as a work of art at the four locations for €20 each.

Important moments:

• 5 October at 11h and 15h: press and presentation moment in Bosmuseum Pijnven in Hechtel-Eksel, free access
• 7 October from 18h till 21h: Opening Constant, rue du Fortstraat 5, 1060 Brussel, free access – we organise one minute of silence for the victims of the genocide in Gaza
• 12 October from 13h30 till 16h: guided tour in De Liereman with An Mertens, online registration
• 30 October from 18h till 21h: workshop with the artists at Constant, rue du Fortstraat 5, 1060 Brussel, free access
• 2 November from 14h till 16h: guided tour in Kalmthoutse Heide with An Mertens, start at De Vroente, register via anais@anaisberck.be

Documentation of the research
This project is a work of Anaïs Berck, an artistic collective of humans, trees, and algorithms:

• Humans contributing to this project: An Mertens (coordination/tree clerk), Gijs de Heij & Doriane Timmermans (code/graphic design – Open Source Publishing), Anne-Laure Buisson (data scientist), Aelyn Van Diest (bioengineer/communication with the trees)
• Trees contributing to this project: Scots Pine Kalmthoutse Heide (51.3873841, 4.4339524), Scots Pine De Liereman (51.331038, 5.038019), Scots Pine Bosland (51.1631441, 5.3102481)
• Algorithms contributing to this project: Decentlab sun sensor, Milesight & Sensecap CO2 & temperature sensor; EMS Brno band dendrometers, point dendrometer and weather station from Ghent University (dr. ir. Kathy Steppe); django, leaflet, sqlite, D3 JavaScript module, Python programming language, Pca, cluster analysis, skyfield, HTML, CSS.

Many thanks to: forest ranger Eddy Ulenaers, scientist Marjel van den Boer, dr. ir. Kathy Steppe (Boslab/Nationaal Park Bosland), arborist Sven Boets, writer and artist Achilles Cools, Kristof Sprengers, Carola Van Hove, Kris Van der Steen, Paulien Maes, Marian Mertens, Rose Govaerts, Karen Segers (De Liereman team), Peter Noben, Sofie Regniers, Jef De Winter and his team of arborists, and Marc Vogels (Kalmthoutse Heide team).

With the support of: Vlaamse Overheid – Kunsten, Constant, De Vroente, Landschap De Liereman, Nationaal Park Bosland.