Plants are local to everyone and fertile ground for activity ideas. This year, outdoors specialist Julie Mountain will be pointing out some commonly found flora and what you can do with it

plant of the month: willow

Willow is native to the UK, and with its long, slender, pale green leaves, fluffy catkins and flexible stems, it's easily recognised. There are many willow varieties and all are in the Salix family; native varieties include Salix alba the white (or ‘weeping’) willow, which grows near water.

  • Willow hunt: Go for a walk in your local area and look for trees with long, narrow, vivid green or yellow leaves, straight stems and deeply furrowed bark on older trees.
  • Involve parents: Can parents lend the setting any items made from willow? (See fact file)
  • Willows in art: Can you source pictures of artworks featuring willow for the display area or to recreate in your setting?

fact file

  • Willow is tough and resilient, but very light. That's why it is used for cricket bats, clogs and musical instruments. Its flexibility and strength mean it is used for basket weaving too.
  • Willows are among the fastest-growing plants in the world – they can grow 3m in a year.
  • Medicines have been derived from willows for thousands of years; even now, chemicals derived from willow are used to reduce pain and inflammation (though not, as is commonly believed, aspirin).

superhero feature

  • Willow is determined to regrow, no matter how hard or how oftenit is pruned. This means it can be ‘coppiced’ – trimmed back to the ground – and new stems will quickly regrow. The new stems are thin, flexible and versatile, so are perfect for early years outdoor play projects.
  • If you have the space to plant your own willow, within a few years you’ll be able to harvest the stems and use them. Osier (or basket) willow, Salix viminalis, is a great choice for coppicing, weaving and den-building and is the willow most commonly used for living willow tunnels and sculptures.

aims of this series

What is the last plant you saw? Do you have any idea? Why does it even matter?

Unsurprisingly in our increasingly technologically driven world, many of us suffer from ‘plant blindness’. A lack of appreciation and care for the flora around us can have disastrous consequences not only for the environment but also human health, as plants are critical in medicine (both aspirin and morphine are derived from plants, for example) and of course in the food we eat, the clothes we wear and many of the objects we use.

So, every month this year, I’m going to present one very common tree or shrub, each of which you probably walk past regularly in your neighbourhood. Each month we’ll look at some of the main features of the plant and explore how to make the most of it for play and learning, plus how it might enhance the landscape at your setting.

There are a few tools and resources that will help you make the most of this series, so if you don’t already own them, put out a call to parents and local businesses to see if they can donate, and check charity shops and car boot sales before you buy new:

  • Secateurs, long-handled loppers and gardening shears – buy small-handled (but real!) ones so that children can use them too.
  • Vegetable peelers for whittling bark off sticks – I recommend the Good Grips brand for little hands, and a selection of Y-shaped and straight peelers.
  • Jewellers’ loupes for very close examination of plant material and magnifying glasses for general viewing.
  • Gardeners’ twine/wire/string.
  • Children's gardening gloves plus child-sized versions of real trowels, hand forks and spades – not ‘play’ tools.

I also recommend setting aside a small display area to show photos of children's plant explorations, stems cut from a living plant (in a jam jar of water to keep them fresh), images of the tree through the seasons, and examples of the many ways each plant can be used.

  • These plants make up part of the ‘Pappus Top 15’ plants for play and learning, and you can explore hundreds more playful plant springboards for this EU-funded Erasmus+ programme at www.pappusproject.eu.

willow springboards

  • Without leaves, the complicated winter skeleton of a mature willow tree makes a terrific subject for monochrome sketches with chalks or charcoal on black or white paper. In fact, charcoal is often made from willow stems – look online as there are plenty of simple instructions for making charcoal using a campfire and a tin. Chunks of lovely charcoal will also be left behind if you place willow logs on a smouldering campfire.
  • In spring, fluffy catkins emerge before the long, narrow leaves. The furry catkins have earned the smaller willows the nickname ‘pussy willow’ and they can be yellow, lime green or greyish green. They are irresistible to small fingers.
  • In summer, willows are in full leaf, with long catkins that have been pollinated by insects and contain seeds that will float off in a light breeze.
  • Willows are deciduous, so in autumn their leaves curl and turn yellow, falling to the ground, where eventually they will darken to black.

sensory willow

Catkins of all kinds are fascinating and immensely tactile. On a willow, children can find two kinds of spring and summer catkins – short fluffy ones, and later, longer flakier ones. Both are worth collecting for close inspection and taking apart.

  • Use the magnifiers to look very closely at the tiny seeds inside, and the fluffy hairs protecting the ‘pussy willow’ catkins.
  • Practise hand-eye co-ordination and delicate finger movements by using a pair of tweezers to take the catkins apart.
  • Fill small bowls with catkins from a willow in order to allow children to tease them through their fingers and pull them apart.
  • Freshly picked, dry willow catkins are useful additions for art and craft projects. Once fully dried, the catkins will crumble; store the crumbled catkins in airtight jars and your setting will have a ready supply of natural ‘glitter’ or sprinkles for artworks later on in the year.

myth, magic and culture

  • In the Harry Potter stories, the Whomping Willow uses its many pendulous branches to protect the entrance to a secret passageway. Willow has many associations with witchcraft and magic – broomsticks were made from willow, as were magic wands in Greek mythology. You could whittle the bark off a knobbly stick to make a magic wand, or make broomsticks by gathering big bunches of thin bare willow branches to tie around one end of a chunky stick. If you don’t have a willow handy, the branches of silver birch are a perfect substitute.
  • Because it grows very vigorously and easily, in many cultures, willow symbolises immortality, fertility and rebirth – it can be seen in artworks and in stories.
  • In others, it is used as a metaphor for grief.
  • Ancient Chinese communities used willow over their doors to ward off evil.

a willow story

The obvious story to accompany willow explorations is Wind in the Willows. There are plenty of versions of the story for very young children, with and without words, and the characters are enduringly enjoyable. Take the story outdoors if you can – using your outdoors play resources to bring it to life: Mr Toad in his Cosy Coupe… Ratty and Mole fishing in a tuff spot… Mr Badger making a den under a tree or in a playhouse… a big outdoor feast on a sunny day.

willow STEM projects

  • In spring, children can grow their own willows. Take short cuttings from new shoots – you’ll know them because they’ll be soft and bright green. Each child will need a jam jar with 5cm of water in. Drop a cutting in each jar – cut end down – and set them out in a sunny place, adding more water as needed. Check every day – it won’t be long before tiny white roots begin to appear. Once there are a few dozen thicker roots, plant the baby willows into small pots with potting compost, give them a good water and place them in a sheltered place outdoors.
  • Willow provides a habitat for insects and birds. Not only do creatures live in the tree (such as birds, wasps and aphids), lots of mammals collect the fallen leaves to make winter nests because their long, narrow shape makes it easy for smaller creatures to carry and shape them into cosy homes. Collect armfuls of fallen willow leaves this autumn, then allow them to dry out and use them to create nests or to pile up into hedgehog hibernation spots.

next month

We’ll be exploring hazels. If you don’t have a hazel in your setting, ask parents and neighbours if you can harvest a few boughs during February, or check out local parks and green spaces to see if there are any you can visit – they are plentiful all over the UK.