At the start of June we shared the exciting news of our successful bid to Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority‘s Zero Waste Community Fund!

We’ll be working with Indigo and other local organisations to run Clothes Swap Cafés at various locations across Wirral, providing a fun, community driven way to reduce waste and promote sustainability. There will also be workshops and activities focused on sustainable fashion and reuse.

If you are interested in hosting a Clothes Swap at your venue or would like to volunteer to help at the events, please email laura@la21.net

On 5th June, members of WEN were invited to join us at Ness Botanic Gardens for World Environment Day to mark 30 years since the burial of an Eco Time Capsule. Fran Miller was at the 1994 ceremony and so we were delighted that she was able to be a part of this anniversary visit.

First we discussed the aims of the project and then went into the gardens to find the plaque located near the burial site of the time capsule. On a beautiful sunny evening, Ness Gardens looked stunning, and we all enjoyed the time we spent walking around, admiring the plants and listening to the birdsong. Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, we ended by spending some time listening to a talk by the project’s creator Professor John Guillebaud, taking place at an Eco Time Capsule event at Kew Gardens, where two members of the WEN team had travelled to represent Wirral.

The Eco Time Capsule plaque, near the picnic lawn at Ness Gardens.

We organised a trip to Gillmoss Recycling Discovery Centre on 17th June. Thankfully our group scored 10/10 on the ‘What goes in the recycling bin?’ quiz! We discussed the problem of contamination with non-recyclable materials and thought about the products that can be created from recycled waste.

The Materials Recovery Facility at Gillmoss

A massive thank you to volunteers from Liverpool City Region’s Households Into Work programme for their time at the St James Community Garden on 18th June. The team spent the day weeding, painting, clearing paths and the orchard area, and did an incredible job sorting out the compost. Great team, great work and great fun!

The Households Into Work team at St James Community Garden

Sorting out the compost in the community garden

St James Community Garden also provided inspiration to WEN’s gardening groups this month, as Carol took her course members to visit. They also had a tour of the nearby Bee Wirral Elemental Project allotment.

Some members of WEN’s gardening group relaxing in the sunshine at St James Community Garden

Visiting the Bee Wirral allotment in Birkenhead North

On 19th June we held a Sustainable Fashion workshop at Neo Community in Rock Ferry, the first of our events as part of the Clothes Swap Café project. We spoke about the problems of fast fashion and discussed more sustainable alternatives such as buying second hand, swapping clothes with friends and family, or upcycling old clothes into something new.

The sustainable fashion workshop in full creative flow

Scrunchies and T-shirt bags made at the workshop

On 22nd June, Julie returned to WEN for a Summer Solstice workshop. 13 people met to celebrate the power of the sun and the Summer Solstice. Appropriately the sun was shining and it was a beautiful morning.

The session began with an examination of some of the beliefs and practices carried out by our Ancient Ancestors at this time of year. Particular attention was given to some of the Ancient Egyptian Sun Gods and the role of the sun in Egyptian temple architecture. We also explored the predominance of the sun disc, known as ‘The Aten’, during the time of Akhenaten, Nefertiti and Tutankhamun.

The session concluded with a look at some of the lovely orange and yellow minerals associated with the sun and a solstice meditation which we were able to hold outside in the garden.

Celebrating the summer solstice with an outdoor meditation at WEN

We teamed up with Hope For The Future for the Big Wirral Environmental Debate on 24th June at Wirral Met’s Twelve Quays campus. We invited all the general election candidates in Wirral’s four constituencies to the event (although some did not wish to attend or were unable to be there).

We asked people to submit questions about environmental issues to show the candidates that our communities want politicians to take action on climate and nature. Topics covered during the main hall debate included plans to reduce carbon emissions, whether parties can work together to tackle climate change, improving home insulation, and protecting 30% of land for nature by 2030. Following the debate, the audience and candidates moved into separate rooms for constituency Q&A sessions focused on Birkenhead, Wallasey, Wirral West, and Ellesmere Port and Bromborough.

WEN Trustee Ben and Laura from Hope For The Future were interviewed on Radio Merseyside before the debate and this gave a big boost to the number of tickets booked. More than 120 people came along to hear from the candidates and filled the main hall. A great turnout! We will ensure that all of the invited candidates will receive a summary of the key talking points of the evening, so all the candidates, regardless of whether they attended or not, are made aware of local priorities for action on environmental issues.

The Big Wirral Environmental Debate at Wirral Met College

One of the break-out rooms for the constituency Q&As. Photo: Wirral Metropolitan College

On 25th June Ellis Palmer, Radio Merseyside’s Climate, Environment and Community reporter, visited St James Community Garden. Ellis talked to WEN Trustee Anne and Tom from Bee Wirral about the benefits of community gardening for wildlife and how it can support people with their physical and mental wellbeing.

The interview was broadcast on 28th June and will be available for over a year on BBC Sounds. Here’s the direct link to the 4 minute feature:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0j723tw

Tom from Bee Wirral and Naomi from WEN with Radio Merseyside reporter Ellis (centre).

Some beautiful results of community gardening

WEN was on Radio Merseyside for the third time in the same week on 26th June! The breakfast show was broadcast live from Green Onions cafe in West Kirby, as part of the radio station’s coverage of issues in each of the region’s parliamentary constituencies in the run up to the general election. Our Trustee Ben spoke about Eco Schools and his experience on Wirral’s Eco School Council during his time at Calday Grange Grammar School.

Ben being interviewed on Radio Merseyside for the second time in one week!

WEN hosted a Cool Communities meeting on 26th June, with time spent discussing funding opportunities and brainstorming ideas for new projects that our community groups can work on together. Cool Communities meetings also provide a chance to find out what the other groups have been doing and what events are planned.

26th June was also the date of the Clothes Swap Café at Neo Community. The event was a great success with 42 visitors bringing in clothes and choosing some new items for their wardrobes.

Checking out the rails at the Clothes Swap Cafe

Lots of colourful summer dresses donated for the Clothes Swap

We’re looking forward to our next Clothes Swap event on Saturday 20th July, which will be at the venue of our project partner – Indigo in Rock Ferry. Find more details here:

https://www.tickettailor.com/events/indigovenuelimited/1126187

The next Clothes Swap event will be at Indigo in Rock Ferry on 20th July

This month Carol held a gardening education course for JourneyMEN, a charity offering support to men who are struggling with their mental health. JourneyMEN hold a gardening club and provide several other practical activities designed to tap into potential and help with recovery.

Pruning the apple trees with Journeymen. Photo: JourneyMEN

On 28th June we teamed up again with JourneyMEN for a Love Food Hate Waste workshop, showing the men how to create delicious meals from low cost foods. There were tasters and recipes to take home, and demonstrations of how to get the most from garden produce and grow food from scraps.