Woodland Learning Zone Official Opening: 22 April

On Saturday 22nd April, we will be celebrating Earth Day in Cuthill Park with a day of FREE fresh air fun!

Loosely based on the themes of learning, imagination and John Muir, the day will start when storyteller Tim Porteus officially opens the Woodland Learning Zone at 11.45 a.m.

 

Tim loves sharing the wonderful world of folklore, mythology and legend, but he has also developed an interest in collecting and telling modern urban tales, as well as personal and family stories and reminiscences.  Take a seat on the storytelling bench from 12 noon.

Annemarie Allan was born in Edinburgh, lived briefly in California and then for much longer in London, before returning to Scotland, where she decided it was time to take her writing seriously.  Her first published novel, Hox, won the 2007 Kelpies Prize and was shortlisted for both the Scottish Children’s Book of the Year and the Heart of Hawick book awards. Her third novel, Ushig, a fantasy based on Scottish myths and legends, was shortlisted for the 2011 Essex Children’s Book Award.

Annemarie's latest novel, Charlie's Promise, is set in and around Prestonpans, just before the outbreak of WW2 when the eponymous hero finds a starving German boy called Josef hiding in the woods near his home.  Annemarie will be in the storytelling throne from 12.45 p.m.

We're hoping many of you will enter our miniature garden competition which will be judged at 1.15 p.m. by Caroline Crawford of Greenspace Scotland, one of a team of Community Enablers helping to deliver the Tesco Bags of Help community grant scheme across Scotland.

There are some great prizes to be won thanks to the generosity of sponsors Scotrail, Gardening Scotland and the Seabird Centre.

Bring your miniature gardens to the park between 12 and 1.

Poet and storyteller, Rachel Plummer was born in London, grew up in East Anglia and Paris, and has spent most of her adult life in Edinburgh, where she lives with her husband and two young children.  

Rachel received the Scottish Book Trust’s New Writer Award for poetry in 2016 and has recently received a cultural commission from LGBT Youth Scotland, funded by Creative Scotland, to write a collection of children’s poems based around LGBT retellings of traditional Scottish myths and stories.  She'll be performing at this year's Hidden Door Festival but before that, you can catch her in Cuthill Park from 1.30 p.m.

As well as the above timed events, there will be plenty of opportunities for impromptu, drop-in fun between 12 and 2 including:

• Facepainting by the fabulous Fantoosh
• Nature activities with The East Lothian Countryside Ranger Service
• Scottish Water educational activities
• Foodie fun with Tesco Musselburgh
• Meet Robin Wood, the artist behind the woodcraft items in the woodland.
• John Muir's birthday celebrations with  some vegan cake by Missy's Vegan Cupcakes and a selfie with the man himself thanks to the team at John Muir's Birthplace!
• Have a mindful walk through a birdseed labyrinth
• Tie a message to the Clootie Tree
  
• Vegware  DIY craft table - what will you make using  cups, stirrers and bags?  A tree decoration? a gnome home? a fairy door? a kite? a bird feeder? Or perhaps make a clay creature or a wooden pendant? (grown-up supervision required)

 

There will also be a limited number of goodie bags to help you enjoy and remember your time in Cuthill Park (bags contain small items not suitable for very wee folk).

Cuthill Park has no wi-fi but lots of trees, slopes, play equipment and wide open space.  

Make the most of Earth Day and bring along a picnic and some favourite outdoor toys for a day of unplugged, screen-free, low-tech fun!

We'd love to see you!   

Woodland Learning Day!

Robin Wood, of Wildchild Designs, talked us through the process of making the storytelling bench for our Woodland Learning Zone at his workshop near Stenton in East Lothian.

The greatly simplified version: A 20 foot oak log was split with a chainsaw and the sapwood removed.

The remaining timber was cut into four sections to form a long, curving bench.

An interlapping fish design was drawn in pencil and then a relief carving was made using a router.

It is important that no water is allowed to pool on the bench so the edges need to slope away. 

The huge bench is going to look amazing!!!!

Robin has also started work on the entrance feature that will mark the start of the woodland trail.  

The sign bears the famous John Muir quotation "The Power of Imagination Makes us Infinite".  Below the writing is a seascape with boats and sea creatures (monsters?).  Above the text are planets and spaceships - plenty to spark the imagination for any storytellers!

We also got to paint the lettering on the entrance sign which will probably be one of the first pieces to be installed in the Woodland Learning Zone. 

Thank you Robin for a fascinating insight to your work. We can't wait to see the finished items!