Lost Words to Herefordshire!
Friday 11th May 2018
Herefordshire Wildlife Trust launch campaign alongside Richard Bavin to donate a copy of The Lost Words to every Primary School in Herefordshire.
"Once upon a time, words began to vanish from the language of children. The words were those that children used to name the natural world around them: acorn, adder, bluebell, bramble, conker - gone! The words were becoming lost: no longer vivid in children’s voices, no longer alive in their stories."
(extracts from the introduction to The Lost Words, Robert Macfarlane & Jackie Morris, 2017, Penguin)
The Lost Words is an enchanting book of poems by Robert Macfarlane, designed to be read aloud to conjure up creatures such as the barn owl, otter and goldfinch. Each poem is beautifully illustrated in watercolour by Jackie Morris. We would love all children in Herefordshire to be able to explore this wonderful book and the wildlife that inspired it, and have decided to make it happen!
Herefordshire Wildlife Trust is launching a project, in partnership with their resident artist Richard Bavin, to raise funds to donate a copy to every primary school and special school in the county - 81 in total. We hope the book will bring the magic of the natural world into the classroom and into the lives of children and teachers.
The John Muir Trust, a conservation charity, has created a free Explorer’s Guide to The Lost Words, full of ideas for families, schools and youth organisations to use: johnmuirtrust.org/initiatives/the-lost-words and you can download three posters featuring extracts from the book.
Our project has the full support of Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris, and Jackie is kindly donating an original otter drawing which will be given to one of the donors at the end of the project - first name out of the hat! Their publisher, Penguin, have generously agreed to supply books at the special price of £10, so we are now looking for people to give £10 to donate a book to the school of their choice. We will place a book plate in the front with the donor’s name, though this can be anonymous if you prefer. We are very grateful to Print Plus for sponsoring the book plates. To donate a book or track progress go to Herefordshire Wildlife Trust’s web site:
herefordshirewt.org/node/3983
Herefordshire Wildlife Trust shops at Queenswood and Ledbury stock The Lost Words, and many of the wild and wonderful creatures in the book can be found on their 55 reserves across our county.
