A community saddened by the felling of an oak tree under which hundreds of primary school children had played, have seen it take on an inspirational new life.
The oak had stood for generations in the corner of what is now St Nicholas Primary’s playing field in School Road at Hurst.
Head of School Sarah Hilling explained the fall and rise of the tree: “During our annual tree survey, it was discovered that one of our much loved oak trees, even older than our school built in 1818, was sadly diseased and deemed unsafe.
“The whole community was saddened by the news that it had to be felled.
“But we didn’t want to lose such a big part of our history. Instead, we asked for the tree to be cut to around 12 feet tall so it could become the centrepiece of a very special legacy project.
The upper part of the trunk was taken away by local arborists, The Treeple, who are busy turning it into a bench for our school grounds, meaning the oak will live on in more ways than one.
“Thanks to generous donations from our community, many of whom once played under the branches of this very tree, and the support of our PTA, the second part of our project really took shape,” added Mrs Hilling.
“One of our talented parents, Mrs Emily Quinn, stepped forward to help design the carving and project manage the work as well as playing a leading part in the fund raising.
“Inspired by our school vision, the design weaves in our values of Respect, Honesty, Courage and Kindness. It includes a pile of books celebrating our love of learning and reading for pleasure.”
Over the summer award-winning tree carving artist Matthew Crabb of Somerset created the sculpture which is topped by a friendly-looking bear reading a book.
Mrs Hilling said the bear quickly became the talk of the village with people visiting to watch the sculpture taking shape. Many have described their own happy times playing beneath the tree as St Nicholas pupils.
Mrs Hilling added: “When the children returned in September, they were delighted to find the old oak had been reborn as a masterpiece, about 11ft high, on the field.
“The oak now stands as a beautiful reminder that even in endings there can be new beginnings. We hope that it becomes a legacy for generations of pupils to come.”
