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Raptor: a symbol for the Wildart Trail and the wider Blean Project 


So the Wildart Trail has officially opened now and vitually everything is installed.
So this post is a small selection of photos showing the finished works.



 detail from the woodland workshop

unusuall to see th konic ponies here

is this guy whistling as he takes his pigs to market
walking along the Radfall on his way to Canterbury



Bugton Underwood; where the insects live

  

counting tree rings



Heron



A Totem Post (pupils at Herne Junior School)

woodpecker



lady of the Woods



these are now known as the 'stump routings'



The Arch



the Sparrow Hawk and Konic Pony Totem Pole



A day alongside KWT Volunteers

I spent the whole day working alongside the KWT Volunteers, I had my agenda and they had theirs. They were clearing areas of trees along the path improving the habitat by breaking the path corridor effect, which can act as a wind tunnel not so good for insect type wildlife.

 

fire: always an event even if just burning waste



I was stripping leaves from branches and was glad of passing converstion. Interesting hearing about peoples different backgrounds and walks of life. This band of helpers rotate around various KWT sites during the week. Focus on the Bidbury site one guy was telling me. Another lived in London (all be it on the wrong side of the river) but plenty in common to talk about. Others had foriegn holidays, amusing dog stories and I enjoyed my day with them. They made me tea, and shared chocolate cakes and this is welcome as the work is fairly physical.

 




















In the afternoon one volunteer was kind enough to find time to help me and Kathryn fill one of the insect homes with sticks and twigs etc which helped a move things along for the opening event on Sunday.

These log cabins take quite alot of material and we spent the whole afternoon sawing wood to the correct length. One passer buy suggested we set up a xmas nativity scene in there, which would work. It might mean changing the accepted characters and replace them with wild life ones.

There's no room in the car park, 3 owls for the wise men, bringing acorns, chestnuts and wild mushrooms who were guided by the red lights on wind turbines on the horizon. We got ponies and highland cattle to watch, we might have a woodpecker as Joseph the carpenter. But I'm struggling to find replacements for Jesus and Mary?

A Map of the Wildart Trail in Thornden Woods




The Wildart Trail

  Here is the final version of the map which will mark the entrance of the trail. It lists all the features that can be seen along the trail.....er.erhm one or two are till in the construction phase. Looking forward to the Opening Day where the trail is officially opened to to public on Sunday 16th Oct. It has been open to the public all the way through construction really, but the chance for everybody to meet everybody and see whats happening in the woodland workshop.

the finished map at the start of the trail

Wildart Tailblaze

This is official opening of the Wildart Trail. This is the cullmination of something like a year working with Kent Wildlife Trust on their Blean Project.

 

I had a conversation in the woods today with a dog walker who had walked his dog for ten years in the woodland. He said there was a noticible increase in people using the woods, you know for leisure walking, school trips and wheel chair special needs organisations bringing group outings, this increase in the last couple of years. He also said he'd seen a lot more animials recently, slow worms, more spieces of birds, lizards and even snakes! I hope this guy comes to this opening event and tells the same storey to Kent Wildlife Trust as that is the whole point and their aims fulfilled. I am delighted to have played a role in project.

Weaving Workshop in the paper

Nest Building on the Blean Project

Willow Weaving Techniques

We have created a place on the Wildart Trail called the 'Coppice Demonstration Area'. This is a flexible space where copicing techniques and skills are displayed, demonstrated and and this case practical workshops carried out. On this occasion by Alan Sage, who ran this 'willow weaving techniques' workshop for Students at Christ Church University and staff from the Kent Wildlife Trust. 

  



Anticipation:            looking in Alan's basket of tools  

I'm unable to pass on the skills we learned on this blog, but we learned discrete knots to join work together, how to add shapes onto a form that your already working on, plaiting, basic basket weaving and unusual hair pins?

 

'and that's all there is to it'!

 

unusual hair pins

 












 The previous workshop we had created large ants, using a random weaving technique, but this was much more structured and required concentration to follow systematic repeated sequences. Speaking from a peronal view point I found that almost every length of willow I use...somehow I manage to kink, creating weak points, combined my reluctance or lazyness to chop off the stouter  portions or 'butts' which then warp my creations out of shape, as the forces I have created within the structure compete. I wrestled for a long time with my fish, which in the end was a conifer tree. Other people managed fins, gills, tails and patterns for scales.

The final exercise was to cretae a sun flower and I had more success. A very enjoyable day, thanks again to Kent Wildlife Trust for oranising this and thanks to Alan Sage for passing his considerable knowledge on.



Here is a link to a slide show covering the days activities click here