The Return of the Ancient Forests is a landscape installation completed in conjunction with an artists residency on Penrith Lakes in 2006. At the time, Penrith Lakes was in the process of remediation, being transforming from a degraded sand and gravel quarry into a series of lakes and parklands. Meditating on this transformation, it occurred to me that for this site, and indeed our whole planet, to be regenerated into a healthy and thriving ecosystem, the return of our forests is necessary.