Michael Fairfax is the lead artist on the Blackdown Hills Neroche Landscape Project hosted by the Forestry Commission. He helped to formulate a Creative Arts Strategy. He looked at ways of utilising the materials from the deforestation programme, and how artists can record the changes occuring on the Blackdown Hills over the next twenty five years. He is also, with the assistance of Graphic Artist Dane Watkins creating a pilot scheme for the use of PDA’s (Personal Digital Assistant) for the interpretation of Quants on the Blackdown Hills. Michael held workshops at Castle Neroche and Blackdown common during 2006 creating artworks with the materials around him. Chert, gorse, bracken, twigs, sand and the roots of an ash tree. As well as photographing, spiders webs, insects, flora and fauna and a number of timelapse films.

'As lead artist on the Blackdown Hills ridge route project I have to instigate a number of workshops for the public. During my time on the Blackdowns I have learnt many things about the project and a number of the developments have enthused me. I am bowled over by the deforestation and coppicing plans The Forestry Commission has for the next twenty years. This should see the Blackdowns restored to the Woodland pastures, and woods of old, predominately the deciduous woods we all know and love with a removal of a lot, but not all of the conifers planted after the war'.