The ceremonial oak was dug in the grounds of Dumfries Museum last Friday afternoon.
And it’s hoped it will become a place for people to go and reflect on the pandemic.
The planting was a collaboration between the artists involved in the ‘Atlas Pandemica: Maps to a Kinder World’ public art project and Dumfries and Galloway Council and it was attended by councillors and artists.
There were readings from author Karen Campbell and poet JoAnne McKay and Brian McAviney did the honours.
Council leader Elaine Murray and depute leader Rob Davidson said: “We’re delighted to work with The Stove to provide not only a tree and a place for people to go and reflect on the pandemic in the upcoming months and years, but also to host an exhibition in our council facilities as part of the Atlas Pandemica project.
“It’s certainly been a challenging, gruelling and ever-changing couple of years and we’re both delighted to see some sort of normality return to society in relation to Covid-19.”
Explaining more about the Atlas Pandemica project, co-curator Robbie Coleman said: “The creative team involved were asked to respond, as artists, to the changes brought by the pandemic that were happening around them.
“The project reveals the social responses and anxieties of the wider public across the period in unusual and fascinating ways.
“Those involved highlight that Atlas Pandemica is just one of the many examples of where creativity is filling in for lost essential services as a result of the pandemic and is proving critical to many people’s wellbeing. This project is an example showing that when people work creatively together this can be a route to wellbeing, trust, and collaboration.”
