As we start this new year, we are thinking back and reflecting on where we are, where we have come from and maybe where we are going. Mainly it is down to the woods to play, but it is also good to take a step back and see it all from a different view. So here is some of what we have been up to...
It is 34 years since Forest School Camps started coming and Learning through Adventure in the field and the woods
It is 6 years since we started bringing local primary and pre school children to the woods
It is 2 years since we co-found Sawpit Woods CIC
Due to the impact of Covid- 19 lockdowns, we got off to a slow start.
But look how far we’ve come in the last year!
We have run 14 session days of Holiday Clubs
This has reached 61 children from 36 different families
We have run 42 after school sessions, reaching 42 children from 28 different families
We have run 30 Parent and Child sessions, reaching 20 children from 16 different families
We have worked with 3 local primary schools
We took part in a pilot with TGCP, supporting adults living with dementia
We have planted approximately 200 trees and 60 hedging plants
80 people have been involved in this tree planting project
We have worked with 30 volunteers
We have reached over 167 people throughout the course of the year in the woods!
One of our favourite moments was constructing our shelter funded by a a grant from The Nineveh Trust, and the help of some brilliant friends, family and volunteers. It has enabled us to welcome and connect with a brilliant and wider spectrum of people throughout the year, welcoming and holding us all with a bit of shelter, comfort and security.
And also we loved planting trees with more groups and volunteers throughout the year. The wet and rainy year has turned out to be extremely beneficial to the growth of our new woodland. These memories will stay as founding formative moments on our journey.
As we look towards the coming year, we start with a rest for the woods and for us, having worked throughout most of the holidays last year. We are also mindful of our impact on the land and want to ensure we tread lightly. So as it is cold and wet, less footfall should help give the dormant woodland time to rest and ready to re-emerge this coming spring. And we look forward with excitement to the new life of the plants, trees, animals and people.
We are grateful for the support of people in the community who see the benefit, value and brilliance of the woodland and have trusted that it is a safe and important space to engage and connect with each other and nature locally. We give our thanks and blessings to Nat, who has supported us unfailingly with such patience and reliability since 2017. She is on her own cycle of growth and we look forward to meeting her addition to the world in the Spring! So we look forward to welcoming new support in February. Please get in touch if you love the woods as much as we do and could maybe see yourselves supporting us, the woodland and others over the coming year.
And finally we are thankful for all the tiny moments of wonder and laughter and play and creativity and fun and curiosity and conversation and really all of it! It is the connections with each and every one of the people from 0-83 in the woods which make it extra special and a magical place to work and be.
Happy New 2022.