Standing at the entrance of Pollok Community Centre, looking outwards, you can see the most beautiful trees standing tall atop a grassy hill, blossoming in the sunlight, boasting an abundance of apples. They whisper, “come closer, share in my fruits and enjoy!”
This vision for the future was set in motion on 30th November 2024, with a community planting day that marked the beginning of Pollok orchard’s life. This day was a celebration filled with stories, music, delicious home-made treats, and the excitement of a natural space owned and cared for by the community. As an artist for Eco Drama, I had the delight of working alongside storyteller David Hughes and pupils from St Marnock’s primary school to co-create performances that would commemorate the occasion.
Creative engagement began by telling stories from fairy tales and folklore to light a fire of curiosity. After all, what are orchards? Why do we need them? And what would it mean to have one in the heart of the place we live? Quickly the pupils started to realise that a community orchard was a special prospect. It not only provided the joy of connecting with nature (and free apples!), but it had wider, positive implications for the planet by encouraging local growing and reducing food miles.
Inviting pupils into blue sky thinking, where there is no limit on what is possible but instead, ultimate freedom to explore the fantastical, we began to imagine what this orchard could be. They generated idea after idea, imagining magic trees that produced infinite apples and secret orchards protected by animals, apples that poison people into disliking processed foods, and treehouses with built-in nets and apple pressing machines.
Imaginings like these are golden, not only for creating new stories, but because they communicate the wonder gifted to us by nature when you open yourself up its inspiration. It signalled too that these children held a love and admiration for their natural surroundings, and that with the right guidance and opportunities, they could grow up to be devoted caretakers of their local green spaces.
From here, the creative process took us down multiple routes. Firstly, we mirrored the pupils’ imagination back to them, weaving their ideas into a simple narrative that could be broken down into scenes. We delivered workshops which invited pupils to explore movements that could visually illustrate elements of their story, and experimented with instruments to discover what sounds would create the right atmosphere. We then encouraged pupils to re-tell different sections of their narrative, allowing them to amend, expand and become familiar with their piece through improvisation. With every new interpretation, the stories grew clearer and more colourful.
© Eoin Carey
‘The Pedlar of Pollok’ was an ensemble re-interpretation of a traditional English folktale by the P4s of St Marnocks. The story is of a humble pedlar, who has a recurring dream telling him to travel to London Bridge. After many sleep-disturbed nights, he decides to journey all the way from Pollok to London Bridge. When he arrives, the pedlar grows disappointed when he doesn’t hear any good news. Just as he is about to give up on his endeavour, the pedlar meets a shopkeeper who tells him that he had a similar dream about finding treasure in an orchard behind a pedlar’s house in Pollok. The pedlar returns home, digs up the roots of the apple tree in his back garden, only to find a chest full of gold.
‘The Tallest Tree in the World’ was devised by the P5 & P6s at St Marnocks. The story follows the journey of a local woman named Linda Saffron who, called to help those who live without shelter or food, is guided by a magical blue light to a gigantic tree. It is an extraordinary tree that stretches high into the sky, past the clouds, and beyond where the sun rises. It produces infinite fruit, and in harvest season it rains apples. As Linda makes her way to the tallest tree, she gets struck by a fallen apple and is knocked unconscious, only waking up again by the magic of the blue light, which surrounds her with a protective force field. With her newfound protection, Linda builds a treehouse, with a huge net to catch the falling apples, that can shield wanderers and wildlife from falling apples. With all the fruit she gathers, Linda bakes delicious treats: apple pies, apple juice, apple sauce, apple crumble, the lot! Every year, she invites those without home or shelter to join her in a celebration of the Tallest Tree in the World, eating apple treats and telling stories in the treehouse.
I am ceaselessly heartened by the hope and poignancy that often comes from working creatively alongside children. Not only are these stories rich with imagination and magic, but they inspire presence and embolden community spirit. In ‘The Pedlar of Pollok’, we learn that the best treasure is to be found on our doorstep, if only we take care to look. The protagonist of ‘The Tallest Tree in the World’ represents ideals we can all strive for: living in service of a cause greater than ourselves, trusting and following our instinct, creating and caring for our communities, and working in harmony with the natural world.
© Eoin Carey
With the story written, the stage set, and apple trees planted, pupils took to the stage to share their performance. Those who work alongside children or have children of their own know how huge it is for them to stand on a stage and speak in front of an audience. But to be given a platform to express, and an applause for that expression is an immense gift that can ricochet throughout a child’s life, building confidence and authenticity in their voice. The pupils of St Marnocks deserve to be very proud of their contribution to Pollok Orchard. Their performance was a joy to witness and a beautiful promise to their community of celebration and collaborative care.
© Eoin Carey
All community engagement projects differ in their approach to nourishing the collective and forging a legacy. The poignancy of Eco Drama’s approach at Pollok was their linking the school sessions to the planting of the community orchard. For a child, planting a tree is a precious moment that isn’t easily forgotten. It is an act filled with excitement and possibility for the future. Pairing their performances with the apple tree planting really marked this moment. The hope is that, as these children grow-up alongside the orchard, they will remember the day they contributed to the vision of community, continually inspiring them to tend to and celebrate the most beautiful trees standing tall atop a grassy hill, blossoming in the sunlight, boasting an abundance of apples.
Eco Drama would like to thank Roisin for producing this thoughtful piece which captures the essence of our Creative Engagement Sessions with pupils at St Marnock’s as part of our Pollok Grows Together project. You can find out more about Roisin here.
