Westonbirt Arboretum summer play trail - panel 10 text

Thank you trees

Updated 21st June 2023

Wood and sports have sat hand in hand for millennia.

Poplar for skis; paulownia for surfboards; maple for netball courts; willow for cricket bats; spruce for velodromes; assam wood for carrum boards; hickory for lacrosse sticks… the list is endless! Trees literally give us the tools we need to play and have fun. So we have left out some cricket bats and balls for you to do just that!

Why should we be thankful?

Play, food, firewood, timber, paper, medicine, cleaning the air, climate control… there are countless reasons that we should be thankful for trees. In Maori culture, a hand carved sculpture would be left as a token of gratitude when they harvested a tree. Gratitude is proven to promote positive emotional wellbeing; what are you thankful for today?

Game rules

French cricket

The aim is for those throwing the ball to (gently!) hit the legs of the batsperson with the ball to get them out! If the ball is caught once it’s been hit by the batsperson, they are also out.

Solo play

How many keepy-uppies can you do with the cricket bat and ball?