Visits
Although King's Wood is an open access site group visits should be arranged via the SVA office and notified well in advance to allow for safe coordination and proper care of the commissioned sculptures and their environment
Call: 01233 664987 or email: education@stourvalleyarts.org.uk
Book An Education Workshop
Stour Valley Arts offer education workshops to schools, youth or community groups, and further education colleges.
We have a long track record of offering high quality artist led workshops over 1 or 2 days and projects planned throughout the academic year. We also run programmes with an arts and science basis.
We can tailor your visit to suit you and to support class based activities, projects and the curriculum. We have a range of artists, photographers, poets. ecologists and environmentalists trained to work in the forest and our new gallery for you to choose from.
Half-day guided walks can also be arranged to view the sculptures.
Gallery visits can be booked to view the exhibitions at our new gallery in Elwick Road, Ashford and should be notified well in advance. For charges see below.
Please ring Lucy Medhurst on 01233 740040 or e mail education@stourvalleyarts.org.uk to discuss your needs or book a visit.
PLEASE NOTE ALL GROUPS VISITING THE FOREST NEED TO OBTAIN PERMISSIONS
In order to ensure safe planning and coordination of visits and to conform to forestry requirements all groups planning a visit to King's Wood should contact the SVA office well in advance.
All SVA staff and artists are trained and have specialist knowledge of the site and works of art
Workshop Charges 2011
Walks and guided tours £100
Artist led workshops £200
GALLERY VISITS
Teacher led visit £1 per head
Guided visit £2.50 per head
Guided visit and follow up artist led activity at school £200 per group
SVA provide all the necessary risk assessments, permissions and temporary toilet facilities for workshops
SVA is a charity and makes no profit from education walks and workshops
We belong to the Wealden Wheels community transport service and can arrange cheaper transport for smaller groups if notified in advance
Benefits For Students
• Exposure to an internationally renowned environmental arts project with works by artists such as Richard Harris, London Fieldworks, Rosie Leventon, Jem Finer and ongoing residencies
• Physical social and health benefits to children who are leading increasingly indoor lives
• Benefits of experiencing the particular environment of the forest, learning in a natural setting and learning about wider environmental issues
• Developing self esteem motivation and confidence in children who struggle with learning in a normal classroom environment; particularly kinaesthetic learners
• The opportunity to work in the forest using natural materials with professional artists/ ecologists
• Encourages creative thinking and learning in the broadest sense
• Some opportunities for involvement with larger projects (please see project section for more details or contact the office)
Some Quotes Made By Visiting Schools & Groups
• “marvilos morning it was the best of my entire life my favirit sculpture was the cloud chamber” Daisy aged 7.
• "I relax more outdoors so I enjoyed working and looking at the sculptures in the forest. We were more free in the forest. I feel more creative when I'm surrounded by Nature" Year 9 student Homewood school Tenterden
• “I really liked making the sculptures because it's a challenge and I like a challenge once in a while. I also liked catching the grasshoppers because when they push off it tikles" Ellie Year 4 Challock school
• “ children had a chance to physically interact with the living/non-living materials of the forest. A valuable tactile experience and the first chance of being near these materials for some of the children”
• “Children that I’ve noticed that don’t particularly engage in the classroom have worked diligently the whole time, working together as a team. Children that wouldn’t usually be classed as leaders in the classroom are leading the projects they are working on.”
• “ …at first they didn’t want to get dirty. At the end of the project they felt so comfortable with the environment that it didn’t matter.”
"Once again a big thank you to all your team and I look forward to hopefully working with you in the future as the work completed is vitally important; it addresses different learning styles and allows for a more creative curriculum where the children take a full and active part learning through doing at the same time establishing an appreciation and love for the natural environment" Peter McCabe teacher St Simon's RC Primary Ashford
• “ like being on holiday - child-centred, creativity first, out of the classroom, no right or wrong way, no inhibitions.” Teacher on training day.
• “ After lunch I assembled the bird with the help of different children from each group. One boy said to me ”Have we made a sculpture?” and was delighted when I said yes. Liz had been encouraging the children to write down words about the forest and I asked them to make something to decorate a tree as a thank you to the forest. For me these were the most magical things that the children made – from beautiful representation of a bird made of shaped sticks, to a tantalising parcel of pierced chestnut paper containing something rustling, to the simplicity and beauty of a foxglove flower entwined with a couple of leaves.” Sara Wicks artist.
Stour Valley Arts At King’s Wood
Kings Wood is a 1500-acre forest in a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, in Challock, Kent. It is managed by The Forestry Commission for conservation, recreation and timber production.
The forest is an ancient woodland site with both broad-leaved trees and conifers: species include sweet chestnut, beech, Corsican pine and Douglas fir. It is home to a huge diversity of flora and fauna, including fallow deer, adders, nightjars, green woodpeckers, lesser and greater spotted woodpeckers, foxgloves, bluebells and wood spurges.
Since 1994, SVA has commissioned artists to make sculptures within the forest and also other kinds of artworks. Artists who are particularly responsive to the history and character of this working forest are invited to spend long periods here. As a consequence of their close and sympathetic involvement with the forest, they use natural materials found in the immediate area, and engage with seasonal and growing cycles.
Their use of natural materials means that the sculptures in King’s Wood gradually change and will all, eventually, become part of the natural forest cycle of decay and regeneration. Day to day, they are transformed by light, weather and seasonal occurrences. As well as sculptures marked on the map, visitors may see the ‘ghosts’ of previous sculptures now being reclaimed by nature. You might also spot experimental pieces made during SVA’s education workshops.
A Working Forest
King’s Wood is a multi-purpose forest, managed for timber production, conservation and recreation. These objectives can co-exist with careful management and a sensitive balance between the needs of all three.
To ensure an enjoyable visit to King’s Wood, respect the forest environment by following the usual countryside code and SVA's own forest code:
• Do not light fires
• Take your litter home
• Keep a safe distance from work areas in the wood
• Do not pick flowers, plants or fungi
• Do not climb on the sculptures (except play equipment)
• Keep with the group at all times – do not wander off
• Follow the Safety advice given by group leaders
• Keep the peace - please switch off mobile phones while in the forest
• To avoid the risk of fire, we operate a strict no-smoking policy in the forest