Installations
Each installation marks a place where the community chose to transform loss into lasting art. Explore the growing trail across Western North Carolina.
Some Echoes carry more weight than others. This one we carry with the greatest tenderness.
Echoes of the Forest unveiled a new Echo at North Buncombe Elementary School — part of a Legacy Garden in honor of two brothers, Felix Wisely, age 9, and Lucas Wisely, age 7, who lost their lives during Hurricane Helene along with their mother Alison and her fiancé Knox.
The installation, crafted by Mike Ayers, is now a permanent part of the garden — a gentle, living reminder of two young lives and of the love that holds this community together.
Some corners carry the weight of history in every stone. The corner of Eagle and Market Streets in downtown Asheville is one of them.
In partnership with The Block, Echoes of the Forest will unveil a new bench at the entrance to the YMI Cultural Center — a masterwork by Kwadwo Som-Pimpong of Crafted Glory, whose artistry has already graced the Biltmore Forest Town Hall.
The oak log comes from Bee Tree Hardwoods — a tree that fell in Swannanoa during Helene and was carried downstream by the floodwaters. That this wood, swept from one of the hardest-hit communities, will now live permanently at one of Asheville's most historic cultural corners feels like something more than a coincidence.
To unveil this Echo on Juneteenth, at one of the most storied corners in the African American community of Western North Carolina, is a profound honor — craftsmanship, culture, and community healing meeting at exactly the right moment.
On Veterans Day, Iraq War veterans will be honored with a new memorial sculpture and bench — carved from storm-salvaged timber that once stood in the mountain forests they called home.
The bench is being crafted by Mike Ayers of Whetstone Woodworks — himself a war veteran — for permanent installation at the Charles George VA Medical Center in Asheville. The unveiling will take place on November 11, 2026 — Veterans Day — a moment of national remembrance made all the deeper by this act of tribute.
Stay tuned for full details on this powerful and moving tribute. It is being built with the same care and intention that our veterans brought to their service.
Explore the Map
The Trail So Far
Echo #1
Chester Shuey · Appalachian Joinery
289 Lyman St · River Arts District · Asheville, NC · Unveiled June 12, 2025
The very first Echoes of the Forest masterpiece — crafted from salvaged white oak by Appalachian Joinery. Unveiled next to Foundation Woodworks in Asheville's River Arts District, this piece launched a growing trail of public art installations across Western North Carolina. The celebration included a ribbon-cutting followed by a Meet the Woodworkers event at The Roof at The Radical Hotel.
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Echo #2
Mike Ayers · Whetstone Woodworks
Playing Woods · NC Arboretum · Asheville, NC · Unveiled September 20, 2025
A custom box turtle sculpture created for the NC Arboretum's Playing Woods — designed as both an art and playground feature. The Playing Woods, newly opened in the spring of 2025, is a dedicated area near the Education Center designed for outdoor wilderness adventure, creativity, and exploration for kids of all ages. Shelly invites children to climb, explore, and interact with handcrafted art in a natural play environment that encourages curiosity and creative play.
Echo #3
Chester Shuey · Appalachian Joinery
Plants of Promise Garden · NC Arboretum · Unveiled October 18, 2025 · Find it in the lower garden between the Education Center and the Playing Woods, along the wood-chipped trail on your left as you walk toward Playing Woods.
The second of three Echo installations at the NC Arboretum in fall 2025 — a live-edge bench crafted from white oak salvaged after Hurricane Helene. Where art meets function, Chester's masterpiece transforms storm-damaged timber into a lasting tribute to Appalachian beauty and community resilience.
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Echo #4
Mike Ayers · Whetstone Woodworks
STREAM Garden & Heritage Garden · NC Arboretum
Two installations for the Arboretum's Winter Lights season — "Water in Motion" in the STREAM Garden, with handcrafted wooden fish swimming through a dry streambed, and "Enchanted Forest" in the Heritage Garden, featuring nine wooden mushrooms forming a fairy ring centerpiece. Each piece tells the story of resilience — fallen trees reborn as art that educates, inspires, and connects our community to nature.
Echo #5
Mark Oliver · Foundation Woodworks & MJO Studios
Plants of Promise Garden · NC Arboretum · Unveiled February 14, 2026 · Find it in the lower garden between the Education Center and the Playing Woods, along the wood-chipped trail on your left as you walk toward Playing Woods.
The first 2026 installation — a memorial bench nestled in the lower "Plants of Promise Garden" between the Education Center and the Playing Woods. Combining wooden and rock elements to create a cozy retreat, this piece incorporates a specially designed space to rest with a cup of tea or cocoa — encouraging visitors to pause, connect with nature, and savor the tranquil surroundings.
Echo #6
Kwadwo Som-Pimpong · Crafted Glory
Biltmore Forest Town Hall · 355 Vanderbilt Rd, Biltmore Forest, NC · Unveiled February 17, 2026
A stunning black walnut mantel crafted from a tree salvaged after Hurricane Helene, commissioned by the Friends of Biltmore Forest. Kwadwo's custom piece blends West African artistry with Scandinavian design to create a timeless, sustainable heirloom that enhances the community center. The unveiling featured a speaker series with Dr. Dave Ellum, Professor of Ecological Forestry at Warren Wilson College, on the importance of reforestation and the vital role of native species in restoring our forests.
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Echo #7
Mike Ayers · Whetstone Woodworks
Cane Creek Park · 668 Lower Brush Creek Rd · Fletcher, NC · Unveiled April 4, 2026
Cane Creek Park was among the places most deeply wounded by Hurricane Helene. In the months that followed, it became one of the main drop-off points for storm debris. This spring the soccer fields reopened, and Echoes of the Forest was honored to mark the moment with "Soccer Cub" — a chainsaw-carved sculpture taking permanent root at the park for the whole community to enjoy. In partnership with Buncombe County Parks & Recreation.
Echo #8
Appalachian Cooperage & Taylor Stave · Marion, NC
Burial Beer Co. Forestry Camp · 10 Shady Oak Dr. · Asheville, NC · Tapped April 18, 2026
Six 30-gallon barrels crafted from Helene-felled white oak by Appalachian Cooperage and Taylor Stave in Marion, NC — timber sourced by Matt Christie of Green River Woods. In collaboration with Burial Beer Co., the barrels now hold Echoes of the Forest Oak Aged Brown Ale, a 5.7% ABV ale born from fallen forest and fermentation. An Echo that transforms storm-felled timber into a living collaboration between craft, timber, and community.
Read the story →Beacon Park · Swannanoa, NC
Echoes of the Forest is in conversation with the Beacon Foundation about a future collaboration at Beacon Park — the former Beacon Blanket Mill site in Swannanoa. More details will be shared as plans take shape.
From hotel lobbies and town halls to memorial gardens and community parks — every Echo is one of a kind. Start a conversation about bringing a piece to your space.
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