Children create historical monument for Trafalgar Wood
A giant willow sculpture in the form of a 19th century battleship is being planted and weaved by school children from Cranford House School near Moulsford.
The school has sponsored the project in celebration of their 75th anniversary.
The final feature of an exciting new project is set to be created at a new wood on the edge of Long Wittenham, on the Northmoor Trust Estate.
The Trafalgar site, a 6-hectare wood has been planted with over 10,000 oak trees is one of 32 others planted across the UK.
The replica of HMS Neptune, the woodland’s namesake, will stand at 14 metres in length – a quarter of the size of the real ship.
It is one of four nautical structures to be constructed during the week-long project which will involve over 200 children and use 1400 willow rods.
Green willow working takes advantage of the flexibility and quick establishment of willow. The 2m long rods that are used don’t have roots. Once planted, they are bent over and weaved together to form a structure that within a couple of years becomes very rigid.
Ben Philipps, Project Officer for the Northmoor Trust said, 'We're incredibly grateful that the parents and pupils of Cranford House School have given us the chance to realise this exciting project. Not only will the structures provide an impressive visual feature but they will be interactive too. They will also provide a great opportunity for a new phase of community involvement, and will continue to do so as each structure will require annual pruning and re-weaving.'
Claire Hamilton, Headmistress of Cranford House School added, 'We were looking for a suitable way to commemorate the last 75 years and this seemed ideal: rather than buying each of the pupils something made of plastic, we thought that creating a sustainable, sculpture which will grow and develop over the years was a more fitting reflection of Cranford’s ethos. Our pupils will each play their part in the creation of something which will enhance the natural beauty of the local landscape. We hope they will enjoy and learn that taking part in such projects is a fabulous way to make their mark on the world in which they live.’
The creation of the willow structures at Neptune Wood follows the most successful programme of community tree planting undertaken at any of the Trafalgar woods. Over nineteen primary schools and fifteen community groups took up the challenge to plant trees last winter. The project saw over 10,000 oak trees planted to commemorate the tens of thousands used to construct naval vessels. HMS Victory, Nelson’s flagship, was built of wood from over 5,000 oaks and the entire fleet of 27 ships contained around 50,000 oaks, representing roughly two million years of tree growth!
