St Ives School Girls Team Up with Graduate Landscapes

3 March 2009

Tony Richards recently helped the girls from Year 6 of local school St Ives in Haslemere with their Life Skills Week. Life Skills is a two week programme designed to take the girls out of the school environment to take part in a series of interesting local projects.

Tony was invited to join the girls at St Ives, and spent a day with them building a ‘living' willow tree camp. The camp included a willow Tepee, a Willow Walk and Willow Cave.  Using live willow stems and planting them in to the ground for the basic framework of the camp, means that the willow trees will continue to grow and provide cover for the camp for years to come. 

Tony commented on the day "It's been a great day all round and I was pleased to be able to give something back to the school, where one of my daughters is in Year 5. The new area of woodland that has been opened up to the girls is a wonderful natural resource, a great extension to the classroom."

It was an exciting project and all the girls got stuck in helping to build the framework and weaving the canopy cover.  As the Year 6 girls leave St Ives School this summer and move on to their respective senior schools, they will go knowing they have left behind a willow tree legacy for future St Ives School Girls to enjoy!