The willow classroom - March 2009

Holy Trinity School has started to grow a classroom – a living willow classroom. Other schools have grown igloo sized willow rooms but we decided to make it big enough for a whole class and teacher to sit and listen to stories, poems or just discuss the wonder of sitting in a living space.

The idea began even before the first garden meeting with a visit to the Eden Project in Cornwall where they have a mature willow room as well as many examples of willow tunnels and willow used as live edging to beds.

It was one of those things that you see and you want - but where to put such a structure, Soon after that the discussion began about what can we do in our environmental space, and the suggestion was made. It was hard for people who had never seen it to grasp the idea but photos helped.

Willow is a magical plant, you just cut a twig or even small branch, stick it in the ground, water it well and it will form new roots and grow. There are companies supplying willow in bundles and enough to make a small dome would cost around £90. We wanted a big dome and a long winding tunnel entrance. It may cost a bit more.

Then like so much that has happened in the garden it all came together… Judith Baker one of the garden group parents mentioned that she helped out as a volunteer at the Swannery at Abbotsbury and every spring they cut their willow back and she’d ask them if we could have the willow.

The reply can back as a yes, and not only that but would some of the gardening group like to visit the Swannery, feed the swans, view the willow maze that they had had built last year, see the willow that was to be cut and meet the man (swineherd) who would be doing the cutting.

The visit took place in the February half term and several car loads of parents and children had a lovely time visiting the ‘not open to the public yet’ Swannery and feeding the swans.

In preparation for the classroom whilst the garden group were working on the raised bed area, during February half term, a shallow circular trench had been dug for the classroom and a winding snake trench for the entrance tunnel.
At the begging of March the message came via Judith that the coppicing had started and that will willow would be delivered to the school the next week. The swineherd came with his willow and helped plant the main supports of the classroom, it was then up to Judith, Samantha and Helen to plant the fillings for the walls. They were positioned at an angle and woven together to form an interesting crisscross effect. It was a very pleasing process, not too strenuous apart from digging out a few obstructions. During the first couple of days many of the children were brought up to the garden to learn what was going on and to plant a few twigs for themselves.

A watering rota has been put in place as the willow will need to be watered every day for several months to ensure it puts out roots but even after being in for a week it has started to produce little leaves, a wonderful sight.

March update

This week we have been fortunate enough to receive some gifts from both Value House and B&Q. Goods up to the value of £250 were donated by each store. This is great news for us. We have been able to get good quality, organic compost to enrich our growing soil and we have been able to provide classes with propagators and seeds with which to begin their growing.

This month we have spent many hours creating growing beds for all of the classes from year 2 to year 6. This has taken longer than we expected as we undertook the task of 'double digging' at the advice of our local horticultural society. Definitely a good idea but lots of hard work - especially when you dig down a spades depth only to find a hidden stash of builders rubble!!!!

These beds are made from recycled plastic and should hopefully last 'forever'. We soldiered on and now have all 15 beds in place. Now, we just have to finish putting down the weed-proof membrane and woodchip around these beds and put in an edging around the growing site.

To be continued........

Come on classes, get those green fingers to work.

Brasica Disaster

We were given lots of lovely winter growing veg to plant out in the garden and were so excited about what we could harvest over the winter months. We were however poor experienced novices on a steep learning curve and lost the lot. They were obliterated.
We initially thought it might be slugs though looking back this was daft as they were all brand new raised beds on what had previously been a concrete bed and so where the slugs would have come from so quickly is questionable. We then thought it could be pigeons as we can often see them perched in the nearby trees. We set about putting up the shiny CD's and scarecrows but the damage was getting worse. It apears that it was actually the white butterflies. We hadn't covered our crop and unfortunatley we couldn't keep up with the number of caterpillars produced. We went on regular caterpillar watches but alas the war was lost and the brasicas had to go.
If we reattempt this crop next year, we will hopefully be in a much stronger position and can begin the battle from a much stronger stand point. Watch out butterflies, here we come.

New Years Day

I popped up to the school garden on New Years Day 2009 to prune back the grape vines. We hard pruned some and were less brutal with the others. Whilst there we planted some left over bulbs but I think that it was probably too late as they don't appear to have come to anything yet.

Compost Bins Oh Rats!

We had a great compost bin provided with our garden. It had removable wooden slats at the front and parent Pete spent a lot of time working out a way to fix a clear perspex cover to the front with access door so that the children could look and see the various stages of decomposition of all the schools fruit waste over the following months.

BUT

we got visitors.... unwelcome visitors!!!!!






So we had to shut up shop and stop using the compost bin for food waste. These visitors also burrowed underneath the raised beds, displaces lots of soil and then the beds collapsed. Pests, pests, pests. We were learning fast.

New compost bins were ordered from the council. Pest free ones. we take the health and safety of our children very seriously and so we are going to do all that we can to encourage these visitors to stay away and visit elsewhere. All tips will be warmly appreciated.

The Grand Opening

Midway through the installation of the Dorset Cereals Edible Garden a message was received from the School Secretary informing us that a special visitor was coming to the school at the beginning of the September term to look around the new building. Someone had decided that it would be nice idea to get the special visitor to officially open the new garden!

Nothing like a bit of pressure… not only did we have to get the garden built but we had to get it finished to a standard to do justice to the designer Nick Williams-Ellis and also Dorset Cereals who would be also invited to the opening.

It was all very mysterious to start with. Lots of whispered speculation about the special visitor, then a little more information, ‘special royal visitor’, more whispered speculation. Finally, as we were putting the finishing touches to the garden, scrounging and pleading to get the last bit of paving laid we found out that our visitor was to be the Duke of Gloucester.

The Duke trained as an architect and was very interested in the new school and the various green initiatives that had been incorporated into the build.

The whole visit was planned with military precision; the police, Dorset County Council, and W&P B.C. were all involved. A rogue red car in the school car park had to be towed away, this was serious stuff.

The big day arrived, Wednesday 17th September, mild and dry. The Duke arrived on time and met lots of local dignitaries, the architect and Mr Cheesley and other members of staff. The whole school assembled out in the playground whilst the Duke was shown around the school. He was so impressed and asked so many questions that the timetable began to go astray and organisers could be seen worriedly checking their watches. Finally the Duke emerged and was introduced to the ‘Walking Bus’ and after donning a hi-vis jacked accompanied them up to the new garden.

The Duke was taken round the garden by Samantha and was introduced to Patrick Horton. the marketing director of Dorset Cereals and to Nick Williams-Ellis the garden designer. Still wearing the ‘Walking Bus’ waistcoat the Duke formally opened the new garden and then went on to look at the display showing the progress that had been made to turn a wilderness into a workable space.

Following the Dukes departure Nick Williams-Ellis helped with a more informal celebration of the garden by helping some of the pupils to plant two standard bay trees.

Mark Cheesley with Kate Gosling hands a thank you letter to the marketing director of Dorset Cereals, Patrick Horton.



The Duke Officially Opens the New Garden



The lucky pupils allowed up to the garden to witness the big event were our 'Walking bus', our School Council and our 'Eco Warriers'.



Helen Toft, Danyel Cornick, Serena Hayre and Samantha Lucken

Jack Wiston, Joselyn Savill and Tom Wood help Nick plant a bay tree.

Samantha, Harry Hutchinson and Peggy Forden with the second bay tree

Mark Cheesley, Samantha Lucken, Nick Williams-Ellis and Patrick Horton.

Samantha Lucken, Nick Williams Ellis, Allan Goddard, Patrick Horton and the children Sarena and Danyel.

A summer of sweat

Right, let's get up to speed. The rest of the summer was spent watering the plants that we had been lucky enough to receive from the flower show. These included many herbs, one apple and 2 pear trees, a thornless blackberry, grape vines and kiwi vines, runner beans, tomatoes and a passion fruit. A rota was set up of neighbours and school families. It is such a lovely area that people were more than happy to wander up of an evening to enjoy the setting summer sun and the peace and tranquility of a summers evening.
This gives me a chance to thank the watering team:
Helen, Emma, Moira, Pete and James, Sian, Fiona and of course my family for putting up with my long abscences.

We had 2 more major work days in the summer holidays where we continued putting the garden together but also doing a massive clear up of the whole environmental area. Boy had it become overgrown in only 12 months. We joined up many many extension leads to get electrical equipment into the garden (namely for brew time!!) and begged and borrowed petrol mowers and strimmers. Everyone worked really hard and totally transformed the area. We rewarded ourselves with a great little BBQ.


Here follows some shots of the summer garden team working really hard to get the garden ready for the start of school in Spetmenber: