Is there a more creative place than the minds of children? Over 700 children submitted a designs for a new suite of benches to be made by local artists and installed in their local park.

A community project

A new suite of benches can be found in Hamworthy Play Park inspired by local school children. Over 700 children from Twin Sails Infant School and Hamworthy Park Junior School took part in a competition to design a bench for Hamworthy Play Park, inspired by what Hamworthy means to them. Of the imaginative designs submitted, 5 were chosen to be made into 4 benches by local artists. The winning designs all focused on nature and wildlife, with benches themed on ospreys, memories of crabbing, the cheerful flowers in the park, snails & sunshine, and a seagull with armbands and goggles.

Congratulations to the competition winners Lauren, Antosh, Casey-Jayne, Raphael, and Theo for their imaginative designs.

Bringing the designs to life

It’s no easy feat turning a drawing into a real life, functioning bench. Local wood sculptors Roger Coolbear (of Rustic Mania), Rob Beckinsale, and Greenspace Designs Ltd brought to life our osprey bench, crab bench, and Sally the Seagull respectively. Notice the detail included in Freddy the fish (found in Sally’s mouth!), the playful legs of the characterful crab, and the snails included in the beautiful osprey bench. Lauren Gardner, a local student of Arts University Bournemouth, turned the joyous flower and bees design into workable artwork that could then be sandblasted into wood.

Thank you to local partners Friends of Hamworthy Park, Powerhouse Poole, The Story Works, Twin Sails Infant School, and Hamworthy Park Junior School for their support of this project.

Visiting the artwork

These pieces are situated in a Hamworthy Play Park, a public play area in Hamworthy Park. The park area is hard surface, and is accessible. It is very close to a car park, refreshments, seating, and public toilets.

You can find it on a map using What3Words: ///parent.media.took