“It’s a rollercoaster!” “No, it’s a dragon!”
The kids at St Vincent’s Primary couldn’t agree on what the brand new willow sculpture in their school groumds looked like, but they all knew one thing – they were dying to play in it! “Will there be a tunnel? COOL!”
When the team first arrived, the site looked pretty unpromising – a bare, soggy field beside a busy road.
"Before"
The plans showed a garden area with planters for growing vegetables, fruit and flowers: a sensory garden, and a play area with a climbing frame and willow tunnel. There was a lot of work to do to transform this site! The first task was to make a sinous path around the sensory garden area. This was surprisingly time-consuming.
Other tasks including building a shed, planting hedges to mark out the 3 garden sections using a mix of native species, and everyone’s favourite – willow weaving. We also did some workshops with the primary kids – making decorations and windchimes for the garden, and building a bug motel to encourage insect life. This has been a fun and rewarding project, as the children have been watching progress, asking questions and are really excited about the idea of growing – and eating! – their own food – and getting to play in that willow tunnel!
To see how the site’s developed, please see the next post “St Vincent’s Primary” – that bare field has been transformed thanks to a lot of hard work from the team.