Winter work begins at Creativity Acre

Sixteen volunteers, from school children to retirees, gathered last weekend at the Significant Seams venue ‘Creativity Acre’ and tidied and coppiced an area being referred to as the Willow Grove. The rewilded pasture is now a Woodland being gently shaped for arts and nature work. Two willow weavers, three academics, and four young people were amongst the team. Participants identified three interesting fungal species during the session, including one that a participant described as “looking like the filling of a Jaffa cake.”

Another participant kept a branch with distinctive distribution of mosses. She said  it was inspiring a poem she’d write when she got home. She had attended both 2026 events in the ‘EcoCraftland Crediton’ programme held so far: this one, and a poetry session led by the Turning Tides Project and inspired by materials from the Folklore Library and Archive. That event hosted a dozen people at the Bookery. The session was the first of three supporting a local community project called, “And Other Stories,” co-creating a cloak for a folklore inspired Hobby Horse character that must sing a song to gain entry to a neighbour’s house – for a performance at the Arts Centre in March.

EcoCraftland Crediton is a collaborative project of varied traditional craft inspired events funded by Mid Devon District Council Creative Communities Funding. The next event in the series, Contributing to a Community Basket by weaving with local artisan Jane Welsh, is at the Bookery from 10-noon this Saturday 17 January. It is a free and welcomes drop-in participation.

Everyone is invited to two further sessions to help make the ‘Oss cloak and further sessions at Creativity Acre – focused on harvesting hazel, building dry storage, and some hedge laying. Details and booking for these free events and more are online at: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/significant-seams-3282658880.