Living Willow in Primary Schools

We still have some dates available for building living willow structures in school grounds

Copley Living Willow Project

 we have just spent 3 days at Copley, Halifax building some willow structures at Copley Recreation Ground. On Thursday and Friday we worked with the children from the local primary school and built a dome and a tunnel. Today we worked with members of the local community to build a larger living willow dome. Luckily the weather was kind and everyone enjoyed working on the project.

Living Willow Storytelling Area

We worked with 6 and 7 year old children at Charford First School, Bromsgrove to make this storytelling space as part of their exciting natural play area. The weather was kind to us and we managed to avoid rain. all the children managed to plant a live willow rod. on our second day at the school we created a large woven sun and a willow deer.

Magical Willow at 2012 RHS Flower Show Tatton Park / RHS Gardening

Magical Willow at 2012 RHS Flower Show Tatton Park / RHS Gardening here is a nice page featuring our display at the RHS Tatton Park Flower Show 2012...seems a long time ago now

Living Willow Project Everton, spring 2012

We carried out a living willow project with The Wildflower Centre, Liverpool in the spring this year. The project was to create a sheltered space using living willow where local families could take their small children to play. We worked with local volunteers over 2 days to design and plant the structures. The willow has grown really well and the volunteers are doing a great job of maintaining their new park feature.
I cut the first living willow rods of the new season today, there was snow on the distant lakeland hills but it was a nice warm afternoon in the sun with frost lingering in the shaded places. Our first school project will be in 8 days time when we work with a school to build a willow area in their grounds.
We still have some days available if you would like a living willow project for you school or community group.

LIVING WILLOW 2012 - 2013

We are now getting ready for the new living willow season which we will start in late November. We already have a few schools booked for work constructing Twigloos and tunnels for outdoor classrooms. Later dates usually fill up quite quickly so if any school is interested please contact us soon so we can book you in.
The picture is from a press cutting about a project with carried out a few years ago at a Primary School in Kendal.

Living Willow Sculpture 2012

 The Living Willow season will begin again in November once the leaves have fallen from the willow rods aftwer a few frosts - hopefully. We already have a few bookings for working with schools, but now is the time to plan creating new willow features in playgrounds.

Willowpool Workshops

We have been running willow weaving workshops for over 20 years now. this picture is from a workshop held in the year 2000. we will be planning a series of workshops for the autumn.
we can also run workshops anywhere in the country if a group of 10 people get tiogether. we have worked with groups in village halls, schools, private gardens and parks.

Countryside Live

http://www.countrysidelearning.org/category/events/countryside-live

It will soon be time for Countryside Live again. The event is a country fair for children with lots of  hands on activities. We have been running willow weaving activities at this event for many years now and it is always popular.
Countryside Live will be held in Lea Valley Park, London in September.

Girl Guide Event

 

yesterday we ran willow weaving sessions at a Guiding event in Tunbridge Wells. The weather was tolerable with a few showers, but everyone had a great time. We were weaving Stars and Fish with the girls. There were plenty of other activities to keep everyone occupied.
On Wedneday we start to build our display at Tatton Park RHS Flower Show, fingers crossed for a dry day!

LIVING WILLOW

The living willow season is now over until the autumn when we will begin creating more exciting play features for schools. We already have some bookings for next season and advise anyone interested in working with us over next winter to book early!
We have our first Countryside Live at Ledsham next week and will be at The Althorp Country Fair this weekend.

The 2 pictures posted are kind of before and after pictures of a willow dome.

First Country Show of 2012

 we have finished loading our van and will be off to the Colchester Country Show in the morning to set up in readiness  for a 3 day show starting on Saturday. we will be demonstrating basketmaking and Steve will begin a willow sheep  that has been ordered. hope that the weather is kind to us as we will be sleeping in our new van for the first time.

Country Shows and School Art Days

 The Living Willow season is now finished apart from a delayed job at a new build school in Bolton.
Next weekend we will be at our first Country Show of the year with Oakleigh Fairs at Colchester where we will be demonstrating basketmaking and willow sculpture. The following weekend we are at Capel Manor Spring Show, Enfield. Then it's shows every weekend!
We will be starting our Arts Days for schools soon when we work with classes to create willow sculptures for indoor display. Wishing Trees and Giant Suns are popular as well as Animal Sculpture.
We still have a few days available for schools to book.

We are now getting towards the end of the Living willow season, only a couple of week left for willow planting but we have a few days available for any last minute projects. we will be running a living willow course in Hampshire on Monday and then have a week long project at a school in Bolton.

We will working with schools on Arts Days after the Easter holidays. Wishing Trees and Giant suns are very popular as the children can get very involved in the weaving. I've posted a few pictures of a recent school willow art project.

Living Willow at Knayton Primary School, near Thisk

 we worked with all of the children of the school to create a living willow dome.

what was nice about working with this school was that we had built some living willow structures at the attached nursery school about 7 years ago.
these structures are still in regular use and much loved by the chuldren. birds have begun to nest in the willow dome and the nursery children have made lovely rooms in the willow dome. Knayton is very on Forest Schools and the children have been building dens and making fences. today's new construction will be the start of a new forest school area.

Willow Harvest

 we have been cutting our new willow beds today and are very pleased with the crop. we have plenty of strong growing Flanders Red rods that will be great for some of the living willow tunnels that we are building tomorrow and next week.
there is a patch that is bare at the moment. the soil is very shallow and on top of solid rock but a few experimental plantings last year have survived. these were willow rods planted as hoops, with both ends in the ground to prevent the rods drying out before they could make some roots. they seem to have worked quite well so we will be planting more this weekend. the only other problem is calves reaching over the fence and nibbling the new growth. we have a 'stand away' strand of wire in front of our sheep fencing which prevents the big cattle from reaching into the willows but the calves can get under. guess i'll have to put up another lower strand of wire.
we still have a few dates available for living willow projects if there is anyone starting to think about a structure in their school garden or playground.

Our Garden

Our Garden, originally uploaded by willowpool.

here is a picture of our garden in summer

Willow In The Snow

last week we worked with a school in Manchester to create a living willow tunnel. it had snowed quite a lot but the ground was still quite soft as there had not been prolonged from. the children enjoyed being out in the fresh air.

Willow Weaving Session and Dentdale Beer and Music Festival

we will be running willow weaving workshops again this summer at many of the fairs and festivals that we are attending. the picture is of a workshop at Dentdale Beer and Music Festival from last year. we had a lovely time and enjoyed the music. Our event workshops are drop-in sessions where people can try willow weaving and make something to take home.

Forest Prepatory School, Altringham, Askham in Furness C of E Primary and Dolphinholme C of E Primary

We have been working in 3 schools this week and avoided the bad weather quite well. We made a dome with the children of Forest School and the weather was bright but cold. On Tueday we moved on to a local Cumbrian school where we worked in a tired, worn out part of their playground garden to create some arbours and also a small play dome in their nursery garden. Years 4, 5 and 6 helped, enduring the increasingly cold weather. No snow or rain luckily.

Then on Thurday we had a nice indoor day at Dolphinholme School near Lancaster when we made one of our giant trademark suns and a deer creature. The sun will be displayed in the hall and the deer will go outside after being treated with wood preservative. It was nice having the children coming into the hall in groups to help with the weaving. A good time had by all!