Children from Middlesbrough’s Park End Primary School got underway yesterday making a special memento for one lucky athlete taking part in this year’s Olympic Games.
The gift will be in the form of a special cushion made from scratch and entirely by hand from beautiful British wool. It will be donated through the national Woolsack Project which is orchestrating the production of thousands of cushions to be given as personal welcome gifts from the people of Britain to Olympic and Paralympic athletes.
Park End Primary School has had the chance to get involved thanks to support from local farmers and the North East NFU who are keen to encourage children to get involved and in the process learn more about wool how it is produced, why it is unique and why it is so important to the history of Britain.
Working with the farming education charity FACE and the International Feltmakers’ Association, the NFU devised a half-day wool extravaganza that took the children on a journey from 'field to felt'.
Starting yesterday morning (Thursday 19 January), the children initially met local farmer Mark Phalp and a sheep family to find out how wool is produced, how sheep are sheared and what happens once the wool leaves the farm.
Then they had an action packed afternoon working with experienced local feltmakers to turn washed and combed local fleece in a range of natural 'sheep' colours into fabulous felt fabric. This will be used to create a cushion of the children's own deisgn, stuffed of course with natural wool. A special tag with a message from the children will complete the gift before it is sent off to the Olympics.
"This is a really fun project that gives local children an exciting opportunity to participate, albeit in a small way, in the London Games," said NFU regional director Barney Kay. "But it also gives them the chance to learn something about farming, sheep and wool production.
"With Yorkshire and the North East home to more than 6 million sheep we produce a huge quantity of wool but for many years it's a product that has been worth very little, with the price paid to farmers barely covering the cost of shearing.
"Now though its value as the ultimate environmentally friendly fibre is being rediscovered, thanks to high profile initiatives such as the international Campaign for Wool launched two years ago by Prince Charles.
“This year, the Olympics provides the perfect opportunity to really showcase British wool, which is not only completely renewable and sustainable but is also an important part of British history and our national identity.”
Commenting on the NFU initiative that is involving five schools across Yorkshire and the North East, Jane Cooper from the Woolsack project said:
"We're really pleased that schools are able to join in with Woolsack, learn about British wool and sheep and make British wool cushions to give as gifts to visiting athletes. We hope the children at Park End Primary enjoy getting involved and that a direct link with the 2012 Games will make them even more special and exciting.”
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