Tiny Tails making big waves

April 26th, 2024

Schools invited to take part in creative art trail adventure with Julia’s House.

A multitude of mermaid tail sculptures will be swimming into local schools soon ahead of the UK’s first mermaid tail sculpture trail, which will be creating a wave of excitement across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole next spring, in support of Julia’s House.

Schools, nurseries and youth groups are invited to design and paint their very own Tiny Tail sculpture as part of a learning programme for The Great Tail Trail. Once decorated, the colourful Tiny Tails will feature on the free art trail alongside 40 giant mermaid tail sculptures which will be painted by local artists. After the sculptures have been on display for one last time at the mer-mazing Farewell Weekend from 14-15 June 2025, the Tiny Tails will return to their schools to be enjoyed for years to come while the giant mermaid tails are auctioned at a special event to raise funds for Julia’s House.

As well as receiving a blank Tiny Tail sculpture to decorate and keep forever, participating schools and groups will be supported with guidance and resources to help design their sculpture and engage their young learners in the project. They will also receive top tips to help them fundraise a target amount of £750 for Julia’s House, to help the charity continue its life-changing care in the local community.

The Great Tail Trail is being brought to BCP by Julia’s House children’s hospice charity and Wild in Art, the leading producer of spectacular public art events. Julia’s House cares for the most seriously ill children and their families in the Dorset community, with many of the children needing 24-hour care for their complex and often rare medical conditions.

Wild in Art trails can be found across the UK and worldwide, bringing communities together and leaving a lasting legacy. Julia’s House and Wild in Art have collaborated on art trails previously; in 2011 with the Pride in Bournemouth lion trail and in Swindon last year with the Big Dog Art Trail, both of which raised awareness and funds for the children’s hospice charity.

Running from 5 April to 1 June 2025, The Great Tail Trail is expected to attract thousands of visitors from outside the area and encourage local residents to re-discover the towns they love, providing a welcome boost for local businesses.

“We’re so excited to be launching the Learner Programme for The Great Tail Trail,” says Laura Maidment, Julia’s House Public Fundraising Manager. “The trail is a truly local community project, so we want to ensure as many people as possible of all ages, have a chance to get involved. The Tiny Tail Trail will give schools and community groups the opportunity to get creative and design and decorate their own mini mermaid sculpture. They will be able to go out and about and visit their sculpture on the trail as well as enjoy it in their school when it returns. And we hope that some of the participating schools will be able to come and see some of the professional artists at work in our shared painting space, too.

“Play and creativity is at the heart of our care for seriously ill children across Dorset; it’s a powerful way for the children to discover the world around them, communicate and develop skills and understanding. And we hope that local schools and groups can gain as much from joining in with trail too. We’re sure they are going to have a lot of fun designing their Tiny Tail and learning more about their local area – we can’t wait to see where their imaginations take them! And they’ll be joined by the children at the Julia’s House Dorset hospice too, who will be designing their very own Tiny Tail.”

There are only a limited number of Tiny Tail sculptures available. If your school or youth group is ready to dive in and join the fun, you can register your interest by visiting greattailtrail.co.uk/TinyTrail.