Summer Holiday Workshops Natural Wonder Poetry Trail
A Wild Water & Marshes boat trip workshop from Thorpe Ferry will accompany an extract from my poem Dreaming of Albion, Sailing With Maud (commissioned by Norfolk County Council) and is being installed near the ferry for the Summer holidays as part of the Natural Wonder Poetry Trail. The workshop is FULLY BOOKED, but members of the public can book to go on the ferry from Thursday – Sunday, a wonderful way to discover the beauty of the Broads.
To book on to the Natural Wonder Winged & Wild workshops (please keep checking as space may be made available) please book here.
Natural Wonder Winged & Wild workshops to support children this Summer holiday are all FULLY BOOKED, thanks to Active Norfolk. Fun in nature, time to take action to support nature and wildlife through growing and learning about practical conservation in Norfolk. The chance to create and enjoy nature inspired literature and art – all for children eligible for free school meals and to compliment the Natural Wonder Poetry Trail (thanks to Arts Council England for supporting the writing of the Natural Wonder poems).
Happiness Is Growing & Wildflowers
As part of the launch of the Natural Wonder Poetry Trail, there’s an open invitation to plant mini bee friendly flower patches and bee meadows inspired by a poem that’s part of the trail, Happiness Is Growing. Last year, the poem helped 30 Year 4 children at Henderson Green Academy gain a John Muir Award by exploring wild places in Norfolk and taking practical action to help biodiversity through tree planting, making seed bombs and seed packets to pass on to family and friends.
You can grow a flourishing bed of enormous cornflowers in months and these flowers are a real haven for bees. We planted ours from seed last Autumn, to help restore nectar supply after the drought. We also planted pollinator friendly barrels, that provide a source of nectar that will last well through the Autumn – cat mint is particularly popular with the bees and very easy to grow. Ivy, Salvia and Geraniums have all grown back this Summer with barely any intervention.
The cornflowers were sown early on under cover inside and planting out the seedlings in early Winter (initially in a cold frame, then to soil), has made them particularly robust! Poppies have also grown by scattering direct to soil and covering lightly. Thanks to the Floral Project and Norfolk Grows for advice.
I’ve saved most of the flowers for the bees and pollinators, but have also handed out bunches to friends, neighbours and social enterprise The Feed‘s social supermarket, food bank and community hub.
I’m harvesting seeds from these cornflowers to give away and will be planting them with children on our Natural Wonder workshops. We also have bee meadow mix to give away which includes grass seed, which you need to make a bona fide bee meadow!
Check The Natural Wonder Trail page for details as to where you can find the free seeds.
The Last Eel On Earth – On Tour
A Last Eel tour for The Last Eel on Earth to appear in various stockists and spaces is coming together, from museums, to educational spaces and bookshops.
We’re also planning educational activity around the poem working towards World Eel Day 2024, so will share details later in the year as things develop – please let me know if you would like The Last Eel on Earth to come to your educational space, bookshop or museum, in the UK (and thanks to those who have already agreed to take part!) We also have our wonderful eels & ladders game available to educators and schools in packs supported by Broads Authority, Love the Broads and the Broads Trust – these are available across the East!
All welcome, with outcomes shared to celebrate eels as part of World Eel Day 2024. Email ruthie@ruthiecollins.co.uk
