A man who was nearly killed by a large tree that fell on his car has now shaped a career in carving them into sculptures. Former tree surgeon Gary Orange was driving to work in 2007 to start on a gas pipeline construction contract in Plymouth to cut down trees and bushes to clear the land, when a fully grown Sycamore tree fell on his car.
Trapped inside his car and badly injured, he had to be cut out of his Land Rover by fire crews. The accident left Gary with a fractured skull, which required emergency surgery to have a metal plate inserted, reports Somerset Live.
He spent the next three months in hospital and ongoing appointments became the new normal as Gary had to learn to live with his injuries alongside PTSD and fatigue. It was then, as part of his rehabilitation, Gary went from tree surgeon to tree carver.
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And one of his latest sculptures is set to take pride of place in Nailsea.
"The tree had been a wake-up call and reset my trajectory," he said. I started as a hobby really carving animals out of wood and then I got a job making benches for Glastonbury Festival.
"From there people started to ask me to make stuff for them and it really took off. I found enjoyment and healing in tree carving and was soon entering competitions and turning this from a hobby into a business. "
Incredibly, Gary also discovered that tree carving was actually in his blood, and that his own grandfather had done it too. In an amazing twist of fate, after his accident Gary met a fellow carver who carved animals from diseased fallen trees.
When he told him the story of his accident, he discovered the man he was talking to had carved the tree that had changed his life. Gary said: " I know from experience some trees are dangerous and need to be felled, like the one that fell on me. I won't carve living trees.
" I will only work on fallen or standing dead trees - it's my passion to breathe new life into the deadwood. My carving has taken me across the UK, Pennsylvania USA, and a beach in New Zealand. I work for the National Trust, Forestry Commission, County Councils, and undertake private work."
Each February, Gary, 54, from Bradnitch, Devon, also travels to Pensylvania for the 'Ridgeway Rendevous' the 'capital' of the chainsaw carving world. He has now used his skills to turn a former Horse Chestnut tree at Lions Green in Nailsea, which had to be felled last year after becoming diseased, into another sculpture.
The tree, along with another which was taken down by Storm Eunice, is being transformed into a sculpture bench of a lion and her cubs. The town council decided on a lion sculpture in a nod to the green it is named after.
A spokesman for Nailsea Town Council said: "We wanted to do something to mark the loss of the tree so secured money from the Government's Welcome Back Fund to turn it into a sculpture to reflect the area. The carving shows a lion and its cubs. The council will also be planting more trees on the green for its residents to enjoy.
"We are looking forward to seeing people use the new benches and feel sure these will be something that our residents will enjoy. Gary has been fantastic to work with and we wish him all the best."
This is the second sculpture to be carved out of a felled tree in Nailsea. The oak tree which was a feature of the town since the late 1800s on the village green was turned into a wildlife sculpture by woodcarver Andy O'Neill last year.
