I had to admire the cardboard fort that my grandson had created at school and which was now a feature of his home gallery. Or was it a castle? Maybe even a railway terminus or an arts centre? I came to see that what it was was limited only by my imagination.
He had created this with his pals in the school's cardboard corner in what I can only imagine was a 'let's let architects and engineers emerge' session at his school. He's coming four and a half.
And this was no extravagant use of scarce resources by the school. No; this was all recycled cardboard most of which has already been cycled a number of times in previous box lives. Parents had provided it – diverted from the local authority's recycling streams.
When an artefact is complete, the school then sends it to parents so it can enliven the home and draw admiring glances from doting grandparents. And when, in due time, space is needed for more objects, or when there is a cultural shift, the home gallery will refresh itself and parents will in their turn cycle it to schools once again, or to waste, perhaps.
Meanwhile learning has accrued. This recycling of recycling is an art in itself. I wish I'd had a cardboard corner when I was coming four and half.
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