It’s A Wrap - Wealden Arts & Heritage Workshops Delivered

I’m delighted to share that we’ve now completed our latest series of Cuckoo Trail Arts and Heritage workshops for Wealden District Council. The initiative was designed to help children and older residents feel more connected to their community heritage through creative art, while nurturing respect for the nature and the wildlife around them.

This autumn, we reached 565 primary school children in Years 3–6 from 12 schools and 35 older people in residential and day care settings. In total, 22 workshops were delivered, each designed to ignite creativity through artistic crafting and storytelling.

Schools could pick one of five creative workshops, each complemented by a six-page booklet with beautiful bespoke illustrations depicting the history of the Cuckoo Trail, once a former steam railway line and now a green-way and home to wildlife species that thrive there.

It’s been a joy to see children and older adults alike connect with the heritage of the Cuckoo Trail through such hands-on, imaginative activities. Here’s a quick snapshot of what we offered:

• Nest Building (Years 3–6): Children built their own bird’s nests using twigs, moss, yarn and paper.

• Cuckoo Collage (Years 3–6): Leaf- and paper-based collages celebrating local birdlife.

• Drawing with Ink (Years 3–4): Wildlife and landscape drawing using ink and twigs—no pens allowed!

• Cuckoo Line Accordion Book (Years 4–6): Train-shaped books combining local history with collage and illustration.

• Wildlife Zine Workshop (Years 4–6): A lively session blending nature facts with zine-making creativity.

A heartfelt thanks goes to local artist Giulia Casarotto, whose talent and creativity has so enriched this initiative, and to my colleague Lisa, whose support throughout the programme has been invaluable. I’m proud of what we’ve achieved together for Wealden’s Levelling Up programme and look forward to bringing more creative heritage experiences to communities in the coming year.