January 2023 News
January can often be thought of as a gloomy month but we dispelled those winter blues by getting active in the garden, sharing knowledge with others and setting plans in motion for future months.
The three Discover Gardening courses started another run for the new term. ‘Practical Gardening’, ‘A-Z of Gardening’ and ‘Garden Group’ take place at WEN once a week for 10 weeks. The next enrolment dates will be in April. If you would like to find out more or book a place, please phone 0151 639 2121 or 07932 355742, or email carol.seery1@btinternet.com
This month our Birkenhead North Eco Action workshop and course began at the St James Centre. At the initial workshop, Naomi described the effects of climate change and what it means for the Wirral. The group looked at local solutions and environmental volunteering and job opportunities. During the following two weeks, there were discussions about ‘energy and transport’, and ‘reuse, recycle and food’. The topic at the final session of the course on 3rd February will be ‘nature and water’ and there will be a free eco meal as plans are made for personal or group actions.
Carol led a very enjoyable willow weaving workshop at WEN on 20th January. Some made a wigwam for peas and others made a structure to support herbaceous plants like peonies.
The sunshine and creativity boosted everyone’s mood, and it was wonderful to receive this message from one of the workshop participants:
“Excellent workshop. I arrived feeling really stressed and left feeling joyful, with a much better understanding of willow weaving. I couldn’t have asked for more, thank you”.
Carol showing her willow weaving skills.
Twigwams to provide growing support for climbing plants
We teamed up with members of the Joint Rotary Environment Group and Extinction Rebellion Wirral to plan an exciting new project. We would like to set up a Repair Café on the Wirral. Repair Cafés are free events where you can take broken items to be fixed. They are run by volunteers and so we are looking for help!
Do you enjoy mending broken objects? Can you repair clothes and other textiles, jewellery, watches, furniture, wooden items, bikes, phones, computers, electrical equipment or toys?
If you don’t have repair skills, don’t worry! We also need people to assist with running Repair Café events. For example, welcoming and directing people when they arrive, checking in items, making and serving tea and coffee, or just helping us spread the word.
We will be holding a volunteer meeting at WEN on 4th March for anyone who is interested in getting involved in a Wirral Repair Café. Once it is established, the Wirral Repair Café would take place once a month on a Saturday or Sunday. The venue is still to be decided.
If you have any questions about the Repair Café plans or would like to discuss volunteering, please email wen@la21.net
On Wednesday 25th January we attended an event at the Floral Pavilion, bringing together local organisations from the Community, Voluntary and Faith sector that received grants from Wirral Contain Outbreak Management Fund for projects to help Wirral recover from the effects of the covid pandemic.
The share of the fund received by WEN was used for last year’s Eco Art In The Park project. The event gave a chance to share our experience and reflect on the process of receiving the money and implementing the project.
Alison Bailey Smith, who designed and created the flower sculptures, produced a video for the event to explain how the project progressed.
We appreciated the learning opportunity provided by hearing from the other organisations and were able to make connections, with the aim of planning collaborations in the future.
Presentation at the Floral Pavilion with organisations from the Community, Voluntary and Faith sector who received grants from Wirral Contain Outbreak Management Fund.
Notes made during the event
A course for allotment plot holders in Wallasey took place at WEN over four Tuesday evenings in January. The funding for the course was provided through Living In Deprived Community grants from Wirral Council’s Lifelong Learning programme. We had a number of speakers, including Vicky Abbott, Wirral Council’s Allotment Officer, and Kevin Norris of Wirral Lifelong Learning, and Zel Rodgers of Community Action Wirral gave a presentation about grants. The course was a great success, with 6 out of the 7 allotment sites in Wallasey forming a group to support each other and work together. Long may the new allotment group continue!
