Welcome to Treewise Toddlers

We aim to allow children to explore and experience

the natural world with freedom.

Freedom to move at their own pace from one activity to another

and freedom to express their own feelings for and understanding of Nature.

We come together in the playgroup to enjoy the company of others

and to learn the value of shared experience.

As parents we want to learn alongside our children

and demonstrate a caring attitude in work, play and in community.

Dates for this term

It is essential that you pay promptly

Treewise operates on a very tight budget and delays in payment can jeopardise the running of the sessions.

Our Morning

· We start at 10.00am with making bread for snack this is now to be baked on site with the new bread oven.

· After bread we have a craft session based on seasonal themes and a chance to play and work in the orchard. Please remember to bring clothing suitable for all weathers ie: wellies, sunhats for you and the children.

· Snack is usually around 11.15 am and you will need to bring a piece of fruit to share.

· After snack we tidy up and finish with songs, finger rhymes or a story.

The session ends about 12 noon.

This Term

We are celebrating spring with some lovely activities:

Things to be aware of:

· Remember to supervise your children well as it is a natural environment with some plants and insects which may harm.

· Look out for: deer, ticks, wasps, hogweed, cuckoo pint and stinging nettles.

· All the hazards will be explained and identified for you and you will receive a printed sheet in your welcome pack but feel free to ask more questions.

Spring Term Trip

Our trip out this term is to Tamarisk Farm.  It is in West Bexington , which is on the Coast road from Bridport to Weymouth.

Directions:

You take right hand turning opposite the Bull pub in Sywre and then drive all the way down to just before the carpark at the beach . Look out for a sign and drive up a grass track to a field . We will wait here . Please try to get there on time. We will walk over to see the lambs feeding at 10.15 am . Please be aware that it is a working farm so keep a close eye on little ones .

I will try to provide shelter if wet and a snack.  The farm has an organic farm shop selling flour, meat, seasonal fruit and veg and sheepskins.

After the lambs we can go to the beach weather permitting.

Opportunities

Workdays

Kim and David who run Treewise are working hard to improve things for everyone up at the orchard.  They are establishing a regular volunteer day on the third Sunday of every month to maintain the children’s orchard and create new areas. Families are very welcome and encouraged to come along but children must be supervised.

Next workday is April the 21^st 10.00 am-2 pm

Events

Treewise is planning a Blossom-time event in May with stalls, games and pizza!  Your help to plan and support this would be great and help raise money. Please get in touch with Kim on 01308 420 if you want to help or put your name down on list in the yurt.

The Toddler Group plans to sell at car boot sales or hold a jumble sale to raise money for equipment and maintaining the yurt, we need your help for this to work so please volunteer to help organise this or donate when the call comes.

After School Club

Older children can enjoy the orchard by joining our After School Club on Tuesday afternoons 3.45-5.45pm.  These sessions are based on outdoor learning, games, cooking, gardening and seasonal crafts. There are places for 12 children with a cost of £5.00 each. (Including a snack and drink.)

To get in touch with me please email : kathykellypuppets at hotmail dot com

07776141824 / 01308 427057

I’m looking forward to having lots of fun with you all

Kathy xx

View from the potato patch towards the oven

We have hosted a midweek dining evening where people booked a table, a private birthday party, a weekend dining and takeaway night and an Off Grid cooking event where other Low energy and Off Grid businesses and projects such as Wild Stoves , Bridport Renewable Energy Group and local farmer Rob Lemmy showcased their wares and generally shared their enthusiasm and expertise.

Customers have been particularly impressed by the wood-fired earth oven and the rural location of the Garden with its stunning view of Colmer’s Hill we have plans  to promote these unique aspects of the business.

One of the perks of the job..sunset over Colmer's Hill

Next up for us is harvesting and flour milling with Tamarisk Farm in West Bexington and a tour of River Cottage HQ gardens and kitchen.

Take a look at our facebook page and our blog for up to date info and invitations to our events.

See you soon

The Zzipa Team

Zzipa has only been made possible with a grant of £9,700 approved by the Local Action Group.

See: Chalk and Cheese http://www.chalkandcheese.org/

So a very big THANK YOU!  to:

European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development: Europe Investing in Rural Areas’

The grant is awarded by:

The European Union as part of the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) through the South West of England Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) as lead organisation responsible for the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) 2008-2013. The funding comes through Axis 4, the LEADER axis. The fund is known regionally as ‘Local Action for Rural Communities.

Local Action Group

The Local Action Group forms the central part of the programme, it’s an open group, and all the members have a fair and equal say on which projects should be supported, as well as giving overall guidance on the direction of the programme. The Local Action Group meets every 2 months, hears presentations from projects, votes and comments on them, and this then decides which projects can be supported further. The final decision on project funding is made by the Local Action Group Executive.

One Day Pruning Courses: Saturdays 9.30 am -4 pm

(Beginners and Improvers): Saturdays: January 14th and 28th & February 11th and 25th

To join our adventure in low-energy cooking

please contact Rachel Millson: on

01308 427449

or go to the treewise website to send an email.

Harvest

The Treewise Kitchen Garden is a growing and cooking project for families with young children in the local community. In addition to our already popular activities, we are now excited to be introducing more food growing and cooking and hope to share food costs with other families. The aim is to enhance all our lives with more outdoor activity.

Everyone involved has benefited from the fresh food being produced and opportunities to learn new food related skills.

We will continue to offer workshops next year.

The Treewise Kitchen Garden project is being supported by the Big Lottery Fund, the Big Lottery Fund’s Local Food scheme, Grassroots and Community Foundation funding. Many Thanks to Michael and Joy Michaud from Sea Spring Seeds have donated seeds for the project.

Olly Goolden from Five Penny Farm will be holding tutorials.  We will also be running other courses throughout the project so please see our Dates For Your Diary page to find out when our next workshops are.

Workshops to look forward to are Grub-In-A-Tub with Michael Michaud and Adventures in Low Energy cooking with Rachel Millson.

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in the orchard in Symondbury

starting April 2011

(£5 per session)

Campfire cooking, greenwoodworking, outdoor games,

art and craft, gardening,

All ages welcome

( children must be accompanied by an adult )

Telephone 01308 427449 to book