A FAMILY who have been restoring an abandoned piece of land outside of Helston in memory of their late son have welcomed their first school to the project.

Martine Knight, along with her husband Chris, wanted to offer something to the cause of local mental health and well being after the death of her son David Hawke-Treneer in 2013.

So they acquired some land in 2019, which was full of fly-tipped rubbish and invasive plants, and wanted to turn it into a "place of tranquility and healing", which is then offered to local schools and mental health wellbeing groups, all free of charge.

They have named the land 'Koos Tykki-Duw ha Heylyn David' (Butterfly Wood and David's Creek in Cornish).

The sign of Butterfly Woods, near Helston

The sign of Butterfly Woods, near Helston

The land wasn't visible from the roadway and large parts were flooded or bog-like, a tree had fallen and blocked the way through.

Martine said: "I had a vision, that with volunteer help it would take about five years to get everything to where I had envisioned, so we went into 2020 with the idea of getting a volunteer group involved, but along came Covid."

As a result of this, Martine and Chris decided to work on it by themselves, supported by family and with some generous donations of materials or funds by local organisations.

A fairy door is discovered on one of the trees

A fairy door is discovered on one of the trees

"We have made safe entrances, cleared as much of the invasive growth we can, including, tens of thousands of Himalayan Balsam Plants, we have installed basic facilities for groups and fenced the site with repurposed pallets, as part of our ethos of reusing and recycling anything we can," added Martine.

Martine and Chris held a dedication event in June 2021 – intended to mark David’ 45th birthday, but delayed for a year due to Covid – when the project was blessed and more trees planted in memory of David; all others who have ended their own lives and their loved ones.

And while Martine said there was still "much left to do," they have now reached the stage where they are able to invite local schools to begin visits and, recently, the first of these has taken place.

Some of the children from Boskenwyn School

Some of the children from Boskenwyn School

Boskenwyn School, who are located close to the site, but have no outdoor green space of their own, came to visit. Teacher Denise Rusga, and volunteer helpers, brought a group of pupils for the afternoon.

Martine said "They thoroughly enjoyed their time and will be returning soon.

"Hearing children’s voices echoing through the woods was wonderful, and emotional. It made all the hard work worthwhile and we hope that other local schools will soon follow."

The school then sent thank you letters from the pupils, which Martine said she would "treasure."

To see more about Martine and Chris's project visit Butterfly Wood, Helston on Facebook.

One of the thank you letters from the school

One of the thank you letters from the school