Sunday 29 September 2013


Overnight camp from September 6th - 7th at the Secret Valley Woodland. Seven children built their own shelters and slept in them. Despite rain in the night, nobody got wet!








Pizza making

My leaky tent on the left





Saturday 24 August 2013


Saturday 3rd August (with children aged 5-9 years).....


Blindfold rope maze - learning trust and communication skills




Learning how to use tools safely (with a real bow saw!)
Twizzle stick bread




....and shelter building on  Thursday 22nd August (with children aged 9 - 12 years)


Learning knots......


and building shelters







Sunday 16 June 2013




Building the oven



28th-29th May - 9 children over 2 days - a successful earth oven build and pizza cooking session. Lots of mud sliding & fun!


Snake Tree Camp - Secret Valley Woodland, Glastonbury

Making pizzas

Day 2 - The oven finished and fired up ready to use!









Sunday 5 May 2013

'Evolootion' - the story of a compost loo in pictures!

To improve our facilities at the Secret Valley Woodland, the decision was made to build a compost loo. The shed used for the structure came from an allotment and all the wood used in the project was re-claimed -  with much of it found on site. The loo seat is new! The green paint used  and the window were also bought new to go into the project. Other bits and pieces were donated by various people out of various sheds around Glastonbury.

A leaky galvanized butt with it's end cut off and a door added for the poo to land in! It is in situ  next  to a concrete block which  will make up part of the foundations for the compost loo.

A plastic water butt re-modeled to make a link between the floor of the loo and the metal container below. Adding some sealant made a good join. 

The floor of the loo - re-enforced and a hole cut ready. The floor was also coated with varnish.

Temporarily propping things up - just to get things level.

The view down the hole to the earth below!

Offering up the bucket that is going to have the toilet itself built around and act as a chute to the container below.

Legs cut to size and secured. The feet are painted with bitumen to make them last and they are stood upon concrete slabs so they don't sink! They are also staked with metal stakes to prevent movement.

Bracing has been added to the legs. The original shed was screwed onto the base. Some restoration work was done to the shed before this stage - loose boards were re-attached and the interior walls and inside the joints were painted. The feet at the front of the building are just sitting on the lump of concrete.



Some stonework added to stop the foot from slipping and add support to the piece of wood that the step is going to rest upon.

Green paint going on, but still lacking a proper roof covering.

Roofing felt being added.

Roofing felt and trim added.


Almost finished! Still lacking a front step and a window.

Loo seat in position on a wooden fame over the bucket acting as a chute to the metal container below. There is a 'T' shaped support at the back of the toilet that is not shown in this picture.

The loo seat is one of the few items used in the build not re-cycled or leftover from previous projects.


Window installation.








Cupboard made from re-cycled bits and pieces.

Door catch.
The view from the window!
Final finishing touches needed:
  • A step to make access easier.
  • Guttering and a water butt.
  • A way of hooking the door open for ventilation!
  • A bucket of sawdust and some instructions.
  • A place for hand washing.