This week 2nd class received a letter from Willow herself, telling us about her history and her special friendship with humans.
đź“ś A Letter from Willow
Dear children,
Did you know that long ago in Ireland, we willows, and humans, worked very well together. We were the most used plant by people. Back then all humans were very skilled at crafts and loved that we have such bendy branches. You might know some of your people who still have those skills?
We are so bendy that they discovered that they could make furniture, baskets, currachs and many more objects.
Our very special relationship is that they did not just take from us. They helped us grow all over the country. We were and still are good at spreading our seeds by the wind but back then during the winter when we slept people used to cut a length of our stems and push them into the earth. When we woke in spring we sent our roots deep into the earth and we are so talented that we can grow very tall in one year.
We liked to thank humans by having medicine in our bark that they could use to cure headaches and fevers.
We are so happy to tell you about this so we can keep our great friendship,
Much love from the
Willows
We explored how bendy and flexible willow branches are. We had so much fun being creative and making all kinds of things. We wove circles and crowns, crafted bows and arrows, and even made a lion’s tail. It was amazing to see how nature can inspire our creativity and how a simple willow branch can become so many exciting things.
We pretended to stalk a jungle monster in the woods, using our willow swords to explore safely. We also set up a willow trapeze over a “river” of grass, challenging each other to swing across without touching the ground. To make it even trickier, we moved the opposite bank further each turn so that every jump became a new challenge.
Willows are not just trees, they are friends, helpers, and a source of inspiration. We hope we inspire everyone to try making something wonderful with willow!
