A successful tree planting day!

We had a wonderful day on saturday in the woods. We had all those lovely trees to plant and had lots of families come and join us and help make it a really fun and woodland frolic day! The day started at around 11am when everyone started to arrive. The first thing we did was light the fire, which all the children helped to do. Lighting the fire is obviously the most important thing as it is our only way to have to have hot drinks - it is all about getting our priorities straight! It is also important as a focal point and a place where we gather and keep returning to.

Quite a few of the families that came to the woods had not been for a long time and it was lovely to hear them comment on how amazing it looks now that the path has made cleared and that you can walk on the ground without trampling through a jungle of ferns and bracken. 
After lighting the fire, we started to plant the trees. We began with the beautiful silver birches. We put in 9 of them, into a cirle clearing. Each tree is to represent a child with a special relationship to the Woodland Play Centre and it was very special to see the children plant a tree each. The circle as it grows, will represent the circle of life, of children, of growth and hope that other people's children will be able to use and enjoy this magical place as much as these children already have. We can't wait to see the trees grow, and also hope that the children that have planted them will return to this space as they grow older. Maybe one day they will bring their own children to see the tree they planted. You never know.

We also planted hedgerows of haws and hollies and elders, as well as Cherry trees and Rowan's. One day the splashes of color on these trees will create a wonderful frame along the edge of the clearing near the sloes. It will be a feast for the eyes as well as the tummy once these trees grow!

The children did a great job of helping to plant the trees, and then spent the rest of the afternoon eating a picnic, playing in the trees, swinging in the hammock and doing a very detailed bug hunt and tree and flower identification excercises. This was such a lovely part of the day as everyone joined in and we all walked around the wood together, talking and enjoying each other's company.

There was so much energy and so much fun being had by children (and adults) of all different ages joining in with each other. We also ate marshmallows and made popcorn on the fire, not to mention the beautiful lemon drizzle cake (THANK YOU Trish!) and fabulous flapjack and fairy cakes that we consumed all day long.

We ended the day with a bit of West Country Welly Wanging and James (one of the dads) won hands down - there was no disputing it when the welly went so far that no one could see it!

 It was a lovely day and the rain held out until well into the afternoon when everyone had gone and the birds that seemed to have gone AWOL around 11am, all came back and were singing to their hearts content.

Thank you to everyone who came! Thank you also for the donations to the woodland trust - it is great to be able to put something back after all the great trees they sent us.
xx