The Man Who Planted Trees workshops

Thank you for getting involved in our workshops and walks

As we prepared for our production of ‘The Man Who Planted Trees’ performance in Hebden Bridge and Elland in July as part of Calderdale’s Year of Culture, we invited you to be part of the project across art and craft workshops, puppet making, and walks all over Calderdale from March to June. All the venues we used for workshops are wheelchair accessible and have accessible toilets and we provided workshops for all ages.

38 workshops and walks were produced you to join in with and nearly 500 of you did!:

5 walks were offered in Elland, Rastrick / Brighouse and Todmorden
2 events combined walks with follow on art workshops in Hebden Bridge and Elland
22 bookable public workshops were offered in Todmorden, Hebden Bridge, Mytholmroyd, Rastrick and Halifax covering creative writing, drama, singing, craft, art, ceramics, puppet making and planting (5 of these were for young people specifically)
9 all-ages drop-in creative / puppetry activities offered at June’s Todmorden and Rastrick Community Creative Days

Here's a summary of our public creative workshops in 2024.

Drama Taster Workshops
Led by Director Andy Barry

Orange Box, Young People Centre, Halifax
Thursday 28 March
10am-12pm for 8-11 year olds (primary school ages)
2-4.30pm for 11-16 year olds (secondary school ages)

Hebden Bridge Town Hall
Friday 5 April
10am-12pm for 8-11 year olds (primary school ages)
2-4.30pm for 11-16 year olds (secondary school ages)

Together with Time Out and Calderdale Young Carers we offered four relaxed taster drama workshops during the Easter holidays where young people found out more about The Man Who Planted Trees story. These creative sessions, led by director Andy Barry, included drama games, puppetry-play and an introduction to the story. Following the conclusion of all four workshops we're found our youth community cast of 6 young people, aged from 9-16, who will be in our July production.

Writing Workshops
Led by Writer Amanda Dalton
Age 16+

Mytholmroyd Community Centre
Saturday 13 April, 2-4pm

Todmorden College
Wednesday 17 April, 7-9pm

Two public practical writing workshops for everybody aged 16 – 106, led by writer Amanda Dalton. The sessions introduced attendees to the story of The Man Who Planted Trees before we explored some of its themes through a series of creative writing activities, suitable for terrified first-timers and more experienced writers.

With acknowledgements and participants' permission, some of the work produced will feature in Hebden Bridge Arts’ The Man Who Planted Trees project sharing.

Clay Handbuilding Workshop
Make Acorns with Wild Clay, with Katie Bates

The Local Motive, Mytholmroyd
Sunday 14 April, 2-4pm
Age 12+

Using wild clay, freshly dug locally, over a two hour workshop attendees were shown by local ceramicist Katie Bates how to make hand formed clay acorns from two pinch pots, and how to add texture decoration.

Once fired, these acorns will together make a collaborative artwork for exhibition as part of our three The Man Who Planted Trees exhibitions, running in Calderdale from May to July.

This workshop was ticketed, and donations at time of booking welcomed. It was suitable for ages 12+. Once the exhibition of the clay acorns has ended in July workshop participants will be able to collect the acorns they build and decorated and take them home.

Woodcut Workshop
Be Part of a Bigger Picture, with Rachel Red

Northlight Art Studio, Hebden Bridge
Sunday 21 April, 1.30-4pm
Age 16+

Participants were introduced to the principles of woodcut printing, learning to use woodcutting tools, carve their own blocks and print with them as part of a bigger picture.

The result is our collective interpretation of a Harry Brockway illustration from ‘The Man Who Planted Trees’ for exhibition.

This workshop was suitable for ages 16+ due to the use of sharp tools and risk of injury.

We needed 16 people making an individual woodcut in order to make the big picture!

Big Make: Giant Puppet Workshops
Help create a giant puppet with artists Alison Duddle and Jonny Quick

Todmorden College: four workshops:
Sunday 27 & Sunday 28 April
10am-12.30pm & 1.30pm-4pm
Age 16+

At these four half-day taster sessions puppet artists Alison Duddle and Jonny Quick worked with the public to make different part of the project's giant puppet, working with clay, paper mache, wood. Some power tools were involved in woodwork, and people chose which areas they preferred to be part of.

Please note - the completed puppet will be visiting Todmorden as part of the Community Celebration Day on June 1st and at our July performances. People were able to sign up for one or all four workshops. Suitable for those aged 16+. Please donate what you can afford when booking your ticket.

Needle Felting Workshop
Make a felted wool landscape, with Dani Lovett
The Space, Hebden Bridge Town Hall
Sunday 28 April, 2-4pm
Age 12+

Participants were able to try out a new craft in a relaxed environment, working to together make a large textile landscape wall hanging for Hebden Bridge Arts' 2024 open exhibitions.

Taking a section of a landscape art work for yourself, you will work on your section of the picture using the dry felting technique.

Selecting and shaping your coloured wool to reflect the colours, textures and shapes of the section of landscape you're replicating, and using a felting needle to press the roving fibres into the base fabric, all the needle felted sections will be joined together after the session, and will form a collaborative artwork for exhibition, starting with the Town Hall exhibition from 28 May to 14 June.

Walk & Draw Workshops
With Paul Knights & Sally Barker

Saturday 4 May 1.30-4.30pm: Hebden Bridge (Age 16+)
Saturday 11 May 1.30-4.30pm: Elland (Age 16+)

We began with a walk local to our workshop studio, really taking notice of the environment around us. On this walk we considered the history of the valley, and how its remarkable industrial heritage wrought profound changes that has resulted in the nature we find here today.

We gathered inspiration from the colours and contrasts, the textures and patterns and sounds that we encounter, and we collected natural materials to use in the workshop, We then drew, painted and printed with these materials, using them together with natural inks.

Drawings will be exhibited in our July exhibitions in Hebden Bridge and Elland.

Community Singing Taster Workshop
With Charlie Rhodes

The Space, Hebden Bridge Town Hall
Saturday 11 May 2.30-4.30pm (Age 18+)

We invited people to come and engage in some fun and engaging community singing. This singing session was for those aged 18+, led by Musical Director Charlie Rhodes, and included singing games, rounds and simple harmony work, as well as an introduction to the story of our new production. Keen singers were welcomed, no prior stage experience is necessary.

At the end of the session, information was given about being part of our The Man Who Planted Trees production, on stage as part of the community chorus, singing two songs in the show. Our chorus will include youth singers, in addition to seeking 10-12 adults to join the ensemble.

Cromwell Bottom Local Nature Reserve Guided Walk in Elland
With Paul Knights
Sunday 19 May 1-3.30pm
Suitable for ages 14+

We enjoyed a gentle, two-mile walk around Cromwell Bottom Local Nature Reserve.

As we ambled on the accessible paths, we considered the remarkable industrial history of this part of the Calder Valley, and its astonishing rejuvenation into a mosaic of woodland, wetland and meadow that has become the wildlife jewel in the borough's crown.

We saw how a site once so used and abused can, with the dedication of those who care, be transformed into a thriving haven for birds and bats and bees, and also for people.

Kids' Illustration / Art Workshop
With Jimmy Dolan

Mytholmroyd Community Centre
Saturday 18 May 2-4.30pm
Ages 7-11, plus their grown up

14 kids joined Jimmy Dolan, artist and educator to help create a massive painted illustration inspired by 'The Man Who Planted Trees' by Jean Giono,

After a storytelling session, we thought about and drew trees and then worked collaboratively on a giant floor painting, made with paints from hand made pigments, to create an amazing artwork for exhibition in our July Hebden Bridge 'The Man Who Planted Trees' exhibitions.

Wild Clay Seed Bomb Sculpture Workshop (age 5+)
With Katie Bates
Knotts Wood Room at Todmorden College,
Saturday 1 June at 11.10am & 1.50pm (2 hours)

Over these two sessions over 30 people joined Katie Bates to make sculptures out of wild clay and wildflower seeds which will be left to break down naturally, creating habitat and food sources to benefit insects and other creatures.

Each maker was encouraged to make two sculptures: one to take away, and another which will be placed locally to create a public exhibition via Incredible Edible Todmorden - these sculptures will change over time and hopefully eventually result in wildflower patches. As we’re not firing the pieces, it’s an environmentally friendly way to experience working with clay,

We’d like to understand more about how successful the method is in germinating wildflowers, as the approach has great potential for community artwork sessions.

Also during the session we talked about the history of hay meadows in the Calder Valley and other citizen science projects you can get involved with to help understand more about supporting insect populations.

Resurgence: Todmorden: A Walk Towards Restored Landscapes of the Future (age 14+)
With Paul Knights
Todmorden College Main Hall, Todmorden, OL14 7BX
Saturday 1 June at 11.45am & 2.30pm (90 minutes)

Paul led people on a two-mile wander into the landscape that surrounds Todmorden, and through the themes of The Man Who Planted Trees. As they made their way to the edge of town and into the fields, they considered the long history of this place, from its wild natural past, to the coming of farming and the going of industry. Celebrating the beauty they encountered, but also taking a wider view of the diversity and abundance of species that has been lost, people chatted as they walked.

Drawing on the hopeful message of the book, we thought about what we stand to regain if, as Elezard the shepherd shows us in the story and local examples already amply demonstrate, we commit to the task of restoring what we have damaged with determination.

Sending Seeds: Mono-printed greetings card workshops (ages 11+)
with Jimmy Dolan

The Space @ Field Lane, Brighouse, HD6 3JT
Saturday 15 June
Three workshops: 11.15am, 1pm, 2.45pm (1 hour)

Using simple mono print techniques, and supported by artist and educator Jimmy Dolan people created their own handmade greeting cards for someone they cared about.

People took their inspiration from 'The Man Who Planted Trees' short story when thinking about what to draw, or they traced drawings supplied and chose some seeds to add to their card.

Resurgence: Rastrick: A Walk Towards Restored Landscapes of the Future (age 14+) - two walks
with Paul Knights

The Space @ Field Lane, Brighouse, HD6 3JT
Saturday 15 June
Two walks: 11.30am and 2pm (90 minutes)

Did you join us for a two-mile wander into the landscape that surrounds Rastrick, and through the themes of The Man Who Planted Trees, in which we considered the long history of this place, from its wild natural past, to the coming of farming and the going of industry? Drawing on the hopeful message of the book, we thought about what we stand to regain if, as Elezard the shepherd shows us in the story and local examples already amply demonstrate, we commit to the task of restoring what we have damaged with determination. In doing so, we will not only renew our relationship with nature, but also bequeath a richer and more resilient world to our successors.