Ness Gardens visit 

On 1st July, some of our gardening class members took a trip to Ness Botanic Gardens, where Carol led a guided walk around the plant collections, showed how to estimate the age of a tree and encouraged everyone to use their senses to appreciate the sights and smells of the flowers.

Ness Gardens is well worth a visit at any time of year but it is at its most colourful in the summer. A good time was had by all!

WEN Gardenng course members at Ness Gardens

Flowers in full colour

Tree appreciation, including estimating the age of a tree by measuring the circumference at chest height and doing a bit of maths!

Bee Workshops

WEN gardening course member Georgia ran bee workshops on the morning and afternoon of 2nd July. Georgia wanted to spread some bee knowledge as part of the ‘Leading a Project for Positive Change‘ course she is doing at Chester Zoo.

The workshops were designed to encourage people to create better environments for bees in their gardens and to improve awareness of the different bee species found in our area and their lifecycles and nesting habits.

Everyone did a great job making their clay bee houses, which should become desirable homes for solitary mason bees across Wirral!

There was a lot of interest in these workshops and we were delighted at the enthusiasm for the subject. We hope Georgia will run more workshops at WEN in future.

Bee workshop in progress

Completed bee houses

Wirral Forest walks from WEN

The final two Wirral Forest walks took place on 7th and 14th July, with Mike again helping people discover the wildlife that can be found just a short stroll from WEN. On a wander around Central Park, Mike said “we noticed several butterflies, bumblebees, and the wild cherries on the tree.”

Although the walks from WEN have finished, Wirral Forest organise weekly walks from other locations across Wirral, including Prenton, Birkenhead Park and Rock Ferry. See the Wirral Forest CIC website for details.

A view of Central Park

Woman Grows Jeans film screening

On 16th July, Justine Aldersey-Williams brought her Woman Grows Jeans film to WEN. It documents her project to plant flax and indigo, spin yarn, and weave cloth to produce the UK’s only pair of homegrown jeans, and the challenges she faced along the way.

It was a lovely informal evening, with discussions happening before and after the film. One attendee had travelled all the way from Altrincham as she was a weaver/textile artist herself and had seen it advertised on Eventbrite.

After the screening, we saw and held the finished jeans and discussed the process used to create them. The Q&A covered what had happened to ‘Homegrown Homespun’, the original community project with Northern England Fibreshed featured in the film.

If you weren’t able to get to WEN to watch the film, keep an eye out for future screenings by checking the Woman Grows Jeans website.

… and if you feel inspired to grow and weave your own patch of fabric, Justine runs a Growing Slow Textiles course. Look out for enrolment dates later this year.

Justine Aldersey-Williams – the woman and the jeans!

Summer Pruning at St James Community Garden

Thank you to Anne and Steve from Brimstage Orchard who came to help prune our orchard at the St James Community Garden in Birkenhead North on 31st July. They shared their expertise on where, when and why to prune. There are lots of apples, blackberries, plums and pears on the trees so we’re looking forward to harvesting them!

If you would like to visit the orchard, and the rest of the garden off Tollemache Road, email wen@la21.net or ask at the St James Centre if you can borrow a key.

Apples ripening at the St James Community Garden

Steve at work pruning the pear tree

Falkland Road Organic Growers

The lack of rain in July has meant the Falkland Road Organic Growers have had to do a lot of watering outside, as well as in the polytunnel. Luckily their hard work is paying off as the tomatoes, runner beans, courgettes, leeks and parsnips are growing well. The seed heads on the poppies and leeks add interesting sculptural shapes to the raised beds.

The FROGs meet every Wednesday morning to tend to the fruit, veg and flowers growing in the garden around the WEN centre. The group is open to anyone who has completed a gardening course at WEN. If you would like information about joining, please email Carol – carol.seery1@btinternet.com

Runner beans

The seed head of a leek

Gardening, Poetry and Art

Shelagh, one of our FROGs, has joined creative forces with artist Ekaterina as part of a project with 471 Routes CIC to combine poetry and art.

Ekaterina visited the FROGs at WEN and chose Shelagh’s poem about gardening and writing as inspiration for her art. The poem and artwork were recently on display at an exhibition at Mayer Hall in Bebington and Shelagh and Ekaterina are planning another collaboration.

Plant words, letters like seeds,
Watch them grow,
Into greetings, descriptions,
Poems climbing,
Rhyming up trellis,
Conversations connecting,
Voice scents like perfume spreading,
And stories like ripe fruits,
Tasty, savoury, sweetening.
Edible vegetables, all colours,
Herbs foraged from hedgerow,
Steaming, strengthening, feeding.

Yes, you can ingest these words,
Once they are stirred into delicious!
They will become the change you realise,
The understanding you seek,
The person you become.

Ekaterina’s artwork inspired by Shelagh’s poem

Reclaimers

The WEN Reclaimers held their regular weekly through July. This month they continued working on a cover for the electric radiator in the foyer and made more large seed tray tampers. They also renovated a chalkboard and completed a wooden bench. The Reclaimers drop-in sessions take place on Tuesdays, 10am – 12pm. If you would like to join in helping make items for WEN and carrying out improvements around our centre, you would be most welcome.

Woodwork course feedback

The summer term of our woodwork course finished last month but we wanted to share some great feedback from Lucy who attended the course with her neighbour Ella. They were so pleased with the benches they made that Lucy sent us photos of their marvellous new garden furniture. Lucy had a very positive experience on the course and says:

A handmade bench

Woodwork tutor Tony

August events

People’s Emergency Briefing Follow Up

We will be holding People’s Emergency Briefing follow up events on the 2nd Tuesday of each month until December. The next event will be on 11th August.

If you have watched the film at any of the recent screenings, this is your chance to get involved, share thoughts, and connect with others who care and want to act. Come to one meeting, or attend each month to progress ideas.

No formalities, just real talk and solid info. Don’t miss out on this important gathering – bring your questions and your energy!

Please reserve your place for the August event here:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/peoples-emergency-briefing-follow-up-tickets-1994074406228

Wirral Fox Rescue Workshops for Children & Families
Wednesday 12th, Tuesday 18th and Wednesday 26th August
10.30am – 12 noon

Wirral Fox Rescue are delivering these workshops for children and families, in conjunction with Wirral Environmental Network.

The summer holiday sessions will include a talk about the work of Wirral Fox Rescue and ways to support any foxes that might visit your garden.

Children will be encouraged to ask questions throughout the interactive talk and they will be able to look at equipment used in the fox hospital.

The talk will be followed by a foxy quiz and fox mask making activity.

Refreshments will be provided.

The events are open to children aged 5 – 9.

Children must be accompanied by a parent or carer, with a maximum of 3 children to 1 parent/carer.

We are running the workshops on a donation basis. There is no suggested amount – just pay what you feel on the day.

(Our thanks to Barry for covering the cost of refreshments at these events!)

Book a place by signing up through Eventbrite:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1995317018916

There is only a limited number of tickets left but if you wish to be added to a waiting list in case of cancellations, please email wen@la21.net