The Paper Meadow
The Paper Meadow was a year long project conceived by Ling Warlow and delivered in partnership with Wirral Council. Work started in the summer of 2022 and over Autumn, Winter and Spring Ling visited 23 different schools plus a series of sessions for teachers, bringing her passion for British Wildflowers into schools, telling stories and inspiring the children who participated in the project. Pupils aged from 6 - 16 created paper wildflowers using templates and resources created by Ling, and at the end of the project Ling gathered all the flowers together and built the Paper Meadow, which was exhibited across several venues on the Wirral (Wirral Country Park, Thurstaston; Birkenhead Park Gallery and Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight).
Visiting Schools
Images courtesy of WMBC | Brookdale Primary, Bromborough, | Gayton Primary, Heswall
The Flowers
The Paper Meadow Display
Says Ling: "Building the Meadow was a challenge in itself! Circumstance beyond our control (teacher's strikes) meant we did work with all the schools we hoped to and I worried I wouldn't have enough flowers. Turned out I didn't need more flowers, I needed grass, greenery and foliage! Many days were dedicated to creating all the green, and this brought the Paper Meadow to life. We started out with bare pallets, for the first two iterations - consisting of four pallets - I covered all the slats to enhance the green base. In its present format, on one pallet at The Lady Lever Art Gallery, I have stripped the boards and simply stuffed the pallet with flowers, giving a wonderfully lush, verdant look. It is currently supporting the Flower Fairy exhibition.
"I am super proud of all the school children who took part in the project. At the beginning of each session I used a series of giant flower props, including a foxglove. They may not have been able to name the foxglove when the project started, but they definitely can now!
"In less than a century, the UK has lost 97% of its wildflower meadows. The school children of today deserve to experience the natural beauty of our wildflower meadows. Native plants and flowers support insects and form the basis of our increasingly fragile ecosystem. I hope the Paper Meadow will inspire more people to support simple initiatives like No Mow May and the New Year Flower Count - and to sow some of these seeds themselves!"
Huge thanks to Lynn Struve - Schools Eco Officer at WMBC - who made all this possible.
Lynn has immense energy and determination and we need more people like her!
Dandelions made by Well Lane Primary School, Tranmere; Red Corn Poppies made by Wirral Hospital’s School, JPC, Birkenhead; Corn Marigolds made by Cathcart Street Primary, Birkenhead; Cornflowers made by Woodlands Primary, Birkenhead; Oxeye Daisies made by Church Drive Primary School, Port Sunlight; Creative Flower Patch made by Hoylake Holy Trinity C of E Primary School; Meadow Cranesbill made by Barnston Primary School, Heswall; Meadow Buttercups made by Woodchurch High School; Red Campion made by Christ Church CE Primary, Birkenhead; Cuckoo Flowers made by Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Moreton; Welsh Poppies made by Mersey Park Primary School, Tranmere; Oxeye Daisies made by St Mary’s Catholic College, Wallasey; Red, Orange and Yellow Poppies made by Gayton Primary School, Heswall; Dandelions made by Pensby High School; White Campion made by The Oldershaw School, Wallasey; White Campion made by Christ Church C of E Aided Primary School, Moreton; Cornflowers made by St Georges Primary School, Wallasey; Common Chicory made by Park Primary School, Wallasey; Creative Flower Patch made by Clare Mount Specialist Sports College, Moreton; Red Poppies made by Our Lady and St Edwards Catholic Primary School, Birkenhead; Meadow Buttercups made by teachers (session 2, March 2023); Creative Flower Patch made by teachers (session 1, September 2022); Michaelmas Daisies made by Castleway Primary School, Moreton; Red Poppies made by teachers (session 1, September 2022); Red Poppies made by; Brookhurst Primary School, Bromborough; Oxeye Daisies made by Ladymount Catholic Primary School, Pensby