Wild Willow Art Club: Winter Willow Decorations

Join us for the final session of The Wild Willow Art Club in 2025 as we celebrate the end of the season with a hands-on willow crafting workshop. Willow, a flexible and sustainable material, sparks creativity and imagination, making it perfect for creating unique decorations. Children will explore the natural world and its seasonal changes while crafting wreaths, crowns, and festive ornaments, perfect for decorating their homes or Christmas trees.

Children will explore a variety of dried materials and crafting tools to create personalised designs, fostering creativity and developing fine motor skills. This hands-on activity is a fun way to reflect on the garden’s seasonal shifts and bring a touch of nature indoors.

As a special treat, each Wild Willow Art Club member will take home a box of OmVed’s handmade willow charcoal, extending their creative journey at home. This sustainable material will also feature in next year’s projects, offering fresh artistic possibilities.

As always, the session will end with a walk to the compost area, where children will learn how to put the compost “to bed” for winter, reminding them the importance of this practice.

The Wild Willow Art Club is designed for children aged 6 to 12, with each child requiring an accompanying adult. Sessions will take place both indoors and outdoors, so please dress children comfortably in clothes that can get messy with art materials. The garden can be cold or muddy, so layers and sturdy footwear are recommended.

There is a maximum group size of up to 16 attendees for our willow art sessions.

3 Top Skills Children will learn

• Connection to Nature: Working with willow allows children to connect with the natural world, learning where materials come from and how to work with sustainable resources.

• Skill Development: This activity helps children practice important skills like hand-eye coordination, patience, and focus as they carefully weave and shape their creations.

• Hands-On Crafting: Willow is easy to bend and shape, so children can enjoy making fun, imaginative pieces like wreaths, hearts and crowns. The process is tactile and encourages problem-solving and creativity.

About the host:

Corrie Wingate is an artist and arts facilitator based in North London.

After traveling across Africa as a documentary photographer and developing a passion for community arts, she founded Kids Create Kenya, an art centre and artist residency at a children’s home on Lamu Island. Now in its 11th year, the centre provides a creative space where children and young adults can express themselves through art.

Since 2020, Corrie has been part of the garden and kitchen team at Omved, where she now facilitates nature-based art programs for children and adults, helping others connect with creativity and the natural world.

@corriewingate @kidscreatekenya

About OmVed Gardens:

OmVed Gardens is a garden, exhibition, events, and learning space in North London dedicated to exploring the connections between food, ecology and creativity for health and climate resilience. We are on a mission to inspire ecological awareness and action, and deepen our understanding of interconnectedness with the natural world.

As a registered Community Interest Company, all our activities prioritise social and ecological objectives. Whether collaborating with chefs, creatives, gardeners, or schools, OmVed Gardens is a hub for education, connection, and action. We aim to inspire individuals and communities to reimagine their role in building a healthier, more resilient world.

We work to increase biodiversity - of species, seeds, food systems, and participation, through regenerative gardening, seed saving, habitat creation, and ecological education. Our space serves as a living example of how urban areas can be transformed into thriving ecosystems that support both human and non-human communities.

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Subsidised Tickets: We have a few reserved tickets at a subsidised rate. If this workshop is not monetarily accessible, please write to us at events@omvedgardens.com to avail yourself of a subsidised ticket rate. Subject to availability.

Refund Policy: Tickets are non-refundable, except in cases where a waiting list exists for the session. If the event is sold out, a refund may be considered if requested up to 10 days prior to the session date. Please write to us for any refund inquiries.