We've already surpassed the average rainfall for October and the acre is definitely incredibly muddy under foot. However work goes on apace as we continue putting the acre to bed for the winter whilst also getting new projects up and running. A new shed was on site and erected on Wednesday. This is going to be a fantastic space to help us start a new cookery project which will host groups of local primary school children learning to cook homemade meals from scratch.
On Friday peals of laughter filled the acre as a group of Year 6 children from a local Farnham primary school came down to enjoy themselves. Their first activity took place in the Talking Shed where they learnt to weave under the expert guidance of Susan Green, a local professional weaver. After an hour they had each completed a woven pot of multicoloured yarn and they were all very impressive. Next was a treasure hunt where the aim was to find objects, guided by a photograph, each of which had a letter pinned to it. Once all the letters had been collected there was an anagram to solve which could be found in " The Book of Lost Words", the answer being ' dandelion'. After a quick lunch the children were back in the cabin painting terracotta flowerpots during which Mayor Pat Evans popped in to see how they were getting on. She made their day! She answered many of their questions before presenting them with birdboxes made on the acre by Men in Sheds, a birdbook and a terrific digital weatherstation.
Mrs McGrory wrote an account of their experience;
A Relaxing Day Spent Surrounded by Nature and Fun.
Pupils from Hale School spent a perfect day with the lovely Space2grow community. We were so lucky to avoid the rain during our hearty walk across Farnham Park from Hale Academy. When we arrived at Space2grow we were greeted by Kate and Corin who gave us a warm welcome and showed us into the bright and beautiful Space2grow cabin. The lovely Space2grow volunteers had worked hard to plan a whole day of activities for us.
As Kate explained what we would be doing we felt instantly relaxed surrounded by the peace and tranquillity of the Space2grow gardens. Our first activity was going to be weaving. The talented Sue was to be our guide. She carefully explained and modelled for us how we were going to turn simple paper cups into wonderful woollen pots. The complicated weaving technique was quickly mastered by all 11 children who were lucky enough to be on the trip.
We had trouble deciding which yarns we would choose for our pots from the plethora of wool that Sue had kindly provided. For the brave amongst us Sue taught some more complex techniques for us to utilise within our pot design. After we had completed our pots we were back under the guidance of the multi-talented Kate. The children were so excited to take part our next activity - a treasure hunt. Kate had designed the hunt to encompass the whole of the Space2grow acre. Clues were hidden near the pond, the allotments and in some toilet flower pots! The children were overjoyed to locate all the letters that the clues had led them to. Now, was the real challenge, however. Would they be able to solve the anagram for all the letters that they collected? After much debate and hard work this clever bunch worked out that the answer was “dandelion” – a fitting answer considering how much nature surrounded us.
Next, energised by our busy morning we needed our lunch. With the rain still holding off, the children were able to eat outside. Afterwards the children enjoyed running around the garden where a small maze kept them very busy. Our next activity was back with Sue. We were weaving friendship bracelets. Such fun was had by adults and children alike! It was so lovely to see the children so engrossed by so many traditional pursuits. Our last activity was painting plant pots. We were told by Kate that when she brought the paints which we were using to decorate our pots from The Range in Aldershot, the Manager had kindly given her a discount after she had told him that she was hosting a group of children at Sapce2grow. How generous. Thanks so much to The Range! To go with our pots, we were given bulbs. Corin carefully explained to us which was the way the bulbs should go.
The biggest shock of the day was saved till last however when during our painting we had a surprise visit from Farnham Mayor Pat Evans. None of us could believe it - Farnham royalty. Mrs Evans was so friendly and chatted with all the children. She also presented us with some gifts from Space2grow. Some bird boxes made by another Space2grow group, called “Men in Sheds”. “Men in Sheds” are a group of men who get together and make and build different things. To go with our bird boxes Mrs Evans also gifted us a beautiful book about birds. Astonishingly we were also given a third gift -an electric weather station. So many interesting gifts kindly given to us from Space2grow, that would soon be up in our school, shared with all our school friends.
The day was now coming to a close. Laden down with gifts we gratefully trekked back to school. The children were joyfully exhausted from their packed day. A massive thanks to Kate and Corin for organising our day; Sue for her weaving talents.; Lou, who runs and owns Space2grow, for creating such phenomenal surroundings; The Range for providing materials; Farnham Mayor Pat Evans, who provided some funds in order for our day to go ahead and lastly, the children who were positive and wonderful participants who did their teacher and school proud.
By Jo McGrory
