January 2024 News
A New Year and a new term for the gardening courses at WEN.
A visit to Festival Gardens in Liverpool as part of the ‘Discover the Past, Present and Future of Your Garden’ course
A garden plan by a learner on the ‘A to Z of Gardening’ course
The ‘A to Z of Gardening’ course group
The Crafters and Reclaimers groups also returned to WEN after the Christmas break. Crafters takes place every other Tuesday. If you want to know more, please email wen@la21.net. Reclaimers members don’t have a regular meeting day but get together whenever they want to work on a project. If you are interested in joining this group, please email kenny@la21.net.
Our monthly Transition Cafe was held on 16th January at the Quaker Meeting House in Liverpool, a collaboration between Liverpool Quakers, Transition Liverpool, Faiths4Change and Wirral Environmental Network. As usual, the event started by sharing contributions of food with each other. At this session, there was a series of five minute presentations about some of the work that is taking place on Merseyside. Speakers and topics included Planet Heswall, Faiths4Change, Zero Carbon in the Liverpool City Region and the Mersey Green Network Map. The presentations were followed by a chance for people to talk more informally about areas of work where there is room for collaboration.
The next Transition Cafe will be on Tuesday 20th February. Subscribe to the Transition Liverpool email newsletter to receive details.
The second of the ‘Minerals Around the World’ workshops took place on 20th January. Everyone had a lovely time looking at various minerals from North and South America, as well as discovering how the original inhabitants of both continents used them for both practical and spiritual purposes.
The third and final session in the trilogy of workshops is ‘Astonishing Australia’ on Saturday 23rd March. However, there is also a re-run of the Egyptian workshop on Saturday 10th February, with a few places still available for anybody interested.
Contact Julie, juliemarshall48@aol.com if you would like to book a place on either workshop.
Saturday 10th February, 10am
Egypt: Buildings, Beliefs and Beautiful Minerals (re-run)
Ancient Egyptian history, beliefs, and use of minerals for spiritual and medicinal purposes. Minerals covered include Malachite, Lapis Lazuli, Turquoise, and Carnelian
Astonishing Australia
Spiritual beliefs and minerals used by Indigenous Peoples. A look at some spectacular minerals found only in Australia. Minerals covered include: Mookaite Jasper, Zebra Rock and Australian Opals
Each session costs £15, which includes a donation to WEN.
From top clockwise: Peruvian Pink Opal, Amazonite from Brazil, Amethyst from Brazil, Dark Amethyst from Uruguay, and Rose Quartz from Brazil.
Quartz, known by Native Americans as The Brain Cells of Grandmother Earth
On 25th January, Naomi spoke at Wirral CVS’s COP (Communities of Practice) meeting about what we do, nature based volunteering, and the Big Green List. The meeting also gave a chance to connect with a group who are working to improve water quality. Read a report on the COP meeting on the Wirral CVS website.
Later that day we caught up with Alison Bailey Smith in her new space at Wellington Road Art Studios. It was a privilege to see where Alison creates her art from repurposed materials, including wire from inside TVs and vinyl from old banners. We loved seeing the treasures on display, as well as the shelves and boxes holding Alison’s supplies. Even the flooring in the room has been repurposed, combining scavenged sound insulation from Future Yard, lino from ReciproCity Wirral and donated mats from the mechanics next door. We also had a chat with Marie Louise Williams, who weaves baskets and other items out of willow.
Alison’s desk and storage shelves in her new studio
Some of Alison’s work (mannequins rescued from a skip!)
On 29th January, the first of three activity sessions took place at St James Centre to help design St James Community Sensory Garden. There will be more sessions on 5th and 12th February. Join us to have a chat or tell us what you want in the sensory garden.
To find out more and book a place, pop into St James Centre, call them on 0151 670 9974, or email us – wen@l21.net
Help design the St James Community Sensory Garden
On 30th January we held an ‘Introduction To Raised Beds’ training day for JourneyMEN to complement the charity’s garden therapy which supports men experiencing mental health crisis.
Introduction to Raised Beds for members of JourneyMEN
The WEN Trustees are planning to create an archive of the history of Wirral Environmental Network.
Wirral Environmental Network began life in 1985 as Wirral Green Alliance, and changed to our present name in 2009. Were you a member of Wirral Green Alliance? If so, we would love to hear from you with your recollections of the projects that WGA were involved in and the legacy of the early work of the group.
To get in touch please email wen@la21.net
We will be running our ‘Eco Action For Your Community’ workshop and 3 week course at WEN, starting in February.
Course: Tuesdays 5th, 12th and 19th March, 10am – 1pm
This workshop and course is all about making a positive impact on the environment and getting involved in your local community. We use interactive sessions, hands-on activities and group discussions. We’ll pass on practical tips to reduce your carbon footprint and help you connect with local organisations doing amazing work in the community.
19th March – Green and blue spaces, followed by a zero waste meal
If you’re unemployed, in receipt of benefits or earn less than £21,225 per year the workshop is completely free.
Booking is essential via the Eventbrite links below.
Workshop on 27th February:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/eco-action-in-your-community-workshop-tickets-796756840157
3 week course, starting 5th March:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/eco-action-in-your-community-course-tickets-796770099817
To find out more email kenny@la21.net or phone 07876 726747.
Please nominate Wirral Environmental Network to give us a chance to win £1000 through the Movement for Good awards from the Benefact Group.
Click here to complete your nomination
Your nomination will be included in all the remaining £1,000 draws in 2024. Please pass the link to your friends and family as the more nominations we receive, the greater the chance of winning.
Save the date for the WEN Spring Fair on Saturday 11th May!
We’ll be giving more details nearer the time but, while you are making plans for the year to come, you might want to write the WEN Spring Fair in your diary. We wouldn’t like you to miss out!
