The brownies and scouts are an adventurous bunch. Eager to set off through a dense ancient woodland and into a newly planted area, we head off, scavenger bags in hand, ready to explore. Our task is simple: to be curious about the landscape, to find things that spark our imagination and to think about how we might re-tell their stories to others, with the hope that more people might come to know this place and care for it.

We are exploring Griffin Wood and the newly planted Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Royal Mail Woodland, part of the Queen’s Green Canopy Initiative. Together these sites connect over 300 hectares of accessible woodland, providing valuable habitats for a rich variety of wildlife.

The woodland was planted in 2023 by local armed forces veterans working with The Mersey Forest, alongside children from the local primary school. Together they helped establish more than 14,000 trees, native hedging, a wildflower meadow and a pond.

Before coming here, we had already explored our own local landscapes: the church backyard, a grassy verge, a hawthorn hedgerow, even a thriving crack in the pavement. We had found obscure seed heads, the longest grass (you’ve ever seen!!!), a flattened ladybird, a squirming half-worm and visiting birds in search for a bath (we had thought).

Using the materials we found and foraged, the children created collages to tell imaginative stories about the life they had witnessed and shared their creations with one another. We listened carefully to the wild ideas that emerged from the life they observed and felt more connected to what was usually overlooked. We heard about the calm crew of insects, the crazy hedgehog, the glistening glen and the peaceful pond.

To honour these stories, local artist Mike Walker and I brought together elements from the drawings and tales the children had shared to design a sequence of sculptures for the woodland that would carry their stories into the landscape for others to discover. Each layered sculpture combines fragments of their ideas to create rich and imaginative scenes for visitors to encounter. The first sculpture tells the life cycle of a dragonfly, from egg to nymph to adult, set amongst aquatic plants. The second imagines a woodland neighbourhood, where animals interact as part of a small community.

Now we find ourselves back in the woodland together, excitedly searching for the newly installed sculptures hidden amongst the trees. Through the process, the group formed a deeper connection with the woodland and the life they found within it. We hope they will continue to return and that their curious stories will live on, helping others notice, value and care for this place too.

June - November 2025 Commissioned by The Mersey Forest to celebrate the opening of the Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Royal Mail Woodland.