LIVING WILLOW RECOMMENDATIONS

Manorfields School, Salisbury January 2012
What a fantastic 3 days! I always think it is so wonderful when the whole school can work together on a project where the end result can be enjoyed for years to come. Your energy, enthusiasm and patience ensured that the whole experience was exciting, interesting and enjoyable for the children, teachers, TA's and myself. Thank you so much for teaching me some of the willow craft; it will be great to work with the children to recreate the stars, snails and bird feeders.
See you next winter!
Kind Regards
Alison Brown - Chair PTA

January 2011 - Polehampton School, Nr Reading
Children at Polehampton Junior School have been wallowing in willow this week as they halped create a living Willow Village in the school grounds. The project has been led by Ganesh & Elaine Kings from Birdham in Sussex and with their help every child has been involved in both the planting the willow and learning willow crafts. Everyone is looking forward to seeing the village flourish and grow over the coming years. "We hear a lot about creative curriculum these days and it's been wonderful to truly live if for a week and a half", says Mrs Montie, the delighted head teacher.

The Willow Dome - Burwash CEP School East Sussex

It all started as I walked through my home village of Robertsbridge and looked at a living willow arch. “Very nice” I thought to myself but thought no more about it until a flyer arrived on my desk that did not immediately go in the bin as I saw it was advertising willow dome projects.
I had in mind an area to produce shade for the children as well as an area for story and role play. I contacted the organisers left a message and thought no more about it for a while. I did however mention the idea to my Assistant Headteacher. He was hugely enthusiastic and asked to take the project on board. To this, I of course willingly agreed.
After various discussions over finance, siting and requests for a parent maintenance group the project eventually went ahead on January 21st 2008. The day dawned, dark and overcast and our waterlogged field did not seem a hugely welcoming proposition!
However ,Ganesh and Elaine King arrived full of enthusiasm and took an amazing assembly which showed the children just what could be achieved with willow and with hazel.
A timetable had been set out and all classes had a chance to be involved from the turf removal, siting of the doors and windows to the planting of the willow. Whilst the children were out with Ganesh and Elaine , they were also shown what else could be achieved with the willow and some children in Year 6 even brought me a flower pot they had weaved for my office!

The project so far has exceeded all expectations. It has been a great way to get the children to appreciate the fantastic countryside we have around us, here in Burwash, and to involve them in real decision making. It has been a good way to involve parents and the local community and will hopefully give us many special moments when it is in leaf, as we will be able to use it for drama, nurture groups, storytelling, bird watching, shelter etcetera.
We are inviting Ganesh and Elaine back for another day in the summer- a craft day when they can show us some even more amazing things to do with wood. This will fit in very well with the whole school theme for term 6- Native American Indians.
I must say a big thanks to Martin Sharp, my Assistant Head who took the project on and saw it through to completion. He is now ready for his next environmental project- A wild flower meadow, which our dome will look over. I can’t wait….
Debbie Gilbert
Headteacher
Burwash CEP School