Sunday 2nd May saw us at Parklands School in Helensburgh starting on the revamp of their school garden. The theme is to be ‘mini beasts’ and the garden will see many changes over the next few weeks to provide a more stimulating environment for the kids.
First job was to make a living willow ladybird! We were joined by the skilled sculptor Robert who set us all to work on the basic structure. Large pieces of willow were driven into the ground to form the basic shape and then smaller rods were added to form the shell of the body and head of the ladybird. These were gradually woven into the structure and the longer rods bent in to form the rounded shape of the ‘body’.
The head of the ladybird took the shape of an arch and was the entry point into the structure. This soon took shape as willow rods were added and woven in! Where possible the rods were pushed into the ground so the willow will root and grow over time.
Some of the volunteers started to make windows or ‘ladybird spots’ by forming the smaller willow rods into circles and then weaving in more rods to form a nice rigid structure. These were then incorporated into the structure and more willow used to weave in and hold them in place.
Several of these spots were placed around the body of the ladybird until it was deemed spotty enough 🙂 When we left the structure was near completion and Robert and a few willing helpers stayed a while longer to put the finishing touches to it.
BTCV Glasgow would like to say a big thank you to Robert and all the parents, teachers and children who came and helped!
