Dinnseanchas is the artist-led, eco-cultural element of Hometree’s Wild Atlantic Rainforest Project. Alongside the Rainforest Project’s ecological work, ‘Dinnseanchas’ is an arts, heritage and community process aimed at supporting uplands communities in understanding the radical role they could be playing in mitigating the impacts of Climate Change.

This visual approach & concept revolved around the art of storytelling and how it can be a powerful driving force to alter the emotions of an audience, something that would be disruptive in an industry such as climate change and as traditional as farming. Ireland has a strong history with storytelling. The seanchaí is an important link in Celtic/Irish cultural heritage. It continues to play a dominant role in the oral tradition, bringing old stories to life for modern-day listeners. The distinctive role and craft of the seanchaí is particularly associated with the Gaeltacht (the Irish-speaking areas of Ireland).

To expand on this approach, we wanted to combine the idea of storytelling by poising the question - what if a Seanchaí's stories were visualised? To do this, we leaned into the 'artist-led' core value of Dinnseanchas, by imagining an Artist carrying out field research in the coastal uplands - what their sketchbooks might contain as they observe the flora, fauna, community patterns & native animals, as well as the vernacular of the area - the cottages, the hills & coastline. We wanted the depiction of these elements to feel spontaneous and imperfect - like rapid observations by an artist trying to understand the patterns of life in the coastal uplands.

The core HomeTree palette is designed around a deep forest green, a lighter sage & a pale cream. These colours were chosen to reflect HomeTree's core focus - rebuilding natural woodlands. In contrast, the Dinnseanchas palette has been taken from snapshots of communal life; turf, cottages and traditional clothing found in rural Ireland. We combined the idea of the Seanchai & an Artist, sharing stories & visual observations to create a visual approach to reflect Dinnseanchas. We also echoed the tone of voice of HomeTree's brand aesthetic - we wanted to stay true to the roots of HomeTree by creating a visual approach that feels respectful, timeless & accessible.