This is a project the Glasgow Midweek Group have been working on for quite a few weeks now. It’s a Jungle Gym and Outdoor Classroom for St Flannan’s Primary School in Kirkintilloch.
We started off with a VERY WET grassy area at the back of the school, and had to do some pretty heavy-duty digging of drainage ditches and sumps to begin with – it’s supposed to be an outdoor classroom, not an al-fresco paddling pool.
Stuart knee-deep in a drainage sump
The next stage was to create willow tunnels and a ‘fedge’ (a living fence/hedge) around the classroom area. So, off we went to Carmunnock with our Willow Wizard, Alan, for a crash course in willow coppicing and a side helping of fantastic facts about this versatile and impressively resiliant tree. Did you know that coppiced willow shoots can grow up to 10 feet in a single season, and that the bark contains salycylic acid, the active ingredient of aspirin?
We had to cut what seemed like an unbelievable number of willow shoots, literally hundreds, of varying ages and thicknesses to bused for different parts of the willow structures. But with a good crew of hardworking volunteers, and a lot of banter, it was done surprisingly quickly.
Now we had to load all the cut willow onto the van and transport it through Glasgow city centre out to Kirkintilloch – we got some very funny looks from other drivers and passers-by as we went past with what looked like a job-lot of witches’ broomsticks strapped to the roof.
Will it fly?!
Look out for more on this project – willow-weaving, mural painting with the kids and building the assault course.