I was have been delighted to receive funding by Arts Council England to roll out the Birds on the Branchline project, working with wonderful partners and having the invaluable support of GWR, Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership and Artconnexion UK.
We explored what kind of birds live along our branch lines in Cornwall, how they have adapted, what dangers they face and how we could help preserve their habitat and encourage new species to settle there.
Creative literacy/nature preservation workshops took place either indoors, outdoors or on site visits and were based around the notion of Word Birds and a Poetree.
My very own sing-a-long picture book ‘The Magic Train Ride’ was also used for added inspiration.
Those taking part created songs, stories and poems that could be showcased at final celebration events in our interactive copper Poetree.
As I was leaving Mousehole school at lunchtime , having worked with the lovely little ones, some of the children ran up to say goodbye and one of them thrust me this little present that he’d just found on the ground – half of an old rubber ball – which is now a beautiful little bowl for my flowers! Once a little school girl asked me if I’d like an orange tree as a present and when I said yes please she gave me a tiny orange pip – another time a little boy handed me a piece of gravel as if it were a diamond! Gifts to make your heart sing x
Thank you to all who helped 2016 be such a fabulous year! We finished it by making a traditional afternoon tea ( with a poetic twist! ) for an Italian TV Documentary and I can’t wait to host some more CreativiTEA parties in 2017 – I might even get the walking tea table out again! There’ll also be worldwide deliveries from the Postal Service of Happiness and more… Happy New Year!
