Volunteer Days

We held two Volunteer Days at WEN in June – one on the 5th to coincide with Volunteers’ Week and another on the 14th during The Great Big Green Week. Huge thanks to everyone who came along to help make improvements to our Environment Centre.

Over the two days, groups of volunteers worked on tidying around the entrance off Falkland Road and painting the entrance, office and communal space indoors.

Still to do… Painting the kitchen, craft area and shutter; pruning hedges and trees; and creating a hidden space for the bins.

If you would like to lend a hand with any of these tasks, please email wen@la12.net

You may have noticed the wonderful mural in the photo above. Ella recently brought her painting skills to brighten up the wall by our front door. We’re really grateful to her for making the approach to the building look so colourful and welcoming.

Carers’ event at Eureka! and Seacombe Pride In Place 

Naomi went to Eureka! Science + Discovery for the Commitment to Carers Conference on 8th June. The event aimed to build support for carers to live fulfilling lives within their communities.

Naomi helped to publicise the opportunities to get involved with Seacombe Pride In Place – a community-led organisation set up to direct how government funding will be spent in the area.

Suggestions for improvements that people want to see in Seacombe include:

• Better parks and green spaces
• Safer streets and pavements
• More opportunities for young people
• Cleaner streets and less fly tipping
• Improvements to local shops and community spaces

If you live or work in Seacombe, please have your say on what you would like prioritised by filling in this survey.

People’s Emergency Briefing follow up meetings

On 9th and 11th June, we hosted follow up sessions for people who have watched the People’s Emergency Briefing and want to take climate action locally.

We reviewed the film, and talked about our reactions, thoughts and actions. Many of us had contacted our MP but so far been unable to get either a reply or a commitment to attend the film.

It was agreed that the film presented clear scientific evidence with a range of positive solutions. There was frustration that many people are still not aware of the climate and nature crises, but that is the whole purpose of the film. There is strength in working together and hope in us meeting.

We were asked for a list of personal actions we can all take. Imperial College London ranked the nine things people can do to make an impact on climate:

The first is most important by far…
1. Make your voice heard by those in power
2. Eat less meat and dairy
3. Cut back on flying
4. Leave the car at home
5. Reduce your energy use (and bills)
6. Respect and protect green spaces
7. Invest your money responsibly
8. Cut consumption and waste
9. Talk about the changes you make

We will be holding more follow up events on the second Tuesday of each month until December.

The next one is on Tuesday 14th July, 10am – 12 noon. This is your chance to get involved, share thoughts, and connect with others who care and want to act. Come to one, or come 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!

If you would like to attend, please book your place through Eventbrite.

Changemaker event at Chester Zoo

On 12th June, WEN Trustees Anne and Claire attended the Changemaker celebration at Chester Zoo. They helped the schools with their plans at the earlier preparation meetings as biodiversity ‘experts’. Anne sent a report about the day:

“Each school group had chosen their climate related topic to work on. We were assigned to those who chose biodiversity but at the celebration we saw all the projects and presentations. The celebration was so special. Without exception, all the students had grown in confidence and knowledge, presenting their projects with enthusiasm. I was so impressed and inspired by them, as were the councillors, parents and other ‘experts’ present.

We have worked with Our Lady of Pity R.C. Primary School in Greasby on improving their school grounds for biodiversity. The children have informed other students about this project through assemblies and half termly newsletters, as well as involving the parents too. We are hoping to hold a bat event for them in September, using bat detectors from WEN’s Library of Things to discover if there are bats using their grounds.

St Bernard’s RC Primary School in Ellesmere Port had written to the Mayor of Cheshire West and Chester and he was present to receive the letter.

Our Lady’s Catholic Primary School in Latchford, Warrington is near the River Mersey and so the children wanted to focus on river pollution. They embarked on litter picking, raising awareness on how litter ends up in the river and the damage it does to wildlife. They had also made enormous improvements in their school grounds, with the pond and more.

St Mary’s Catholic College Wallasey have been improving their grounds for biodiversity and made bee bricks from clay which was decorated and glazed.

St John Plessington Catholic College in Bebington showed a Sustainabilitree for us to make our own pledges.

St Alban’s Catholic Primary School in Wallasey promoted recycling in all the classes and monitored each class’s progress, feeding back results to gain improvements. They finished the celebration with a rap about recycling… ‘Slam Dunk the Junk!’.”

Wardrobe Talk and Craft: Meet Jane and Alison

On 13th June, Veronika of Recreational Wardrobe brought two amazing creators to WEN – Jane Gordon of Crafters and Makers and Alison Morrell, a textile artist. Veronika had high praise for the enthusiastic and talented group of people who came along to chat and show their latest craft projects. They “turned our discussion into a vibrant tapestry of ideas, especially as we explored not just the art of making, but the future of sustainable fashion.”

Future weekend Wardrobe Talk and Craft sessions will no longer be held at WEN. They will be moving to a venue in West Kirby or Hoylake to better suit those who have attended but live on the West side of the Wirral. We’ll provide details on our social media pages and newsletter when we know the plans.

Energy Saving Talk

On 19th June, Dominic Griffiths from Energy Projects Plus (and Trustee of WEN) gave a very informative talk entitled ‘Warm Homes, Healthy People, Cool Planet’.

After an introduction to Energy Projects Plus, Dominic gave an explanation of the Energy Price Cap, which will increase next month. It is reassessed every quarter and although it will increase by 13% in July, as energy use is lower in summer the effects will not be felt until the winter when there is another increase due. We heard that 20% of homes in England are already in fuel poverty.

A typical household uses 2,700 KMH of electricity and 11,500 KWH of gas each year. When Energy Projects Plus do home visits they can see where households can reduce their energy use by various means: insulation, low energy light bulbs, draught proofing and changes to programming boilers. One of their core aims is to reduce fuel poverty.

Dominic then spoke about the energy crisis and how weather extremes will cause higher fuel use. He pointed out that there would be no financial benefit to opening more North Sea gas fields as the gas extracted wouldn’t stay in the UK. Food prices are also increasing as energy prices increase. Supermarkets and businesses do not have a price cap so are dependent upon the market cost of fuel. You may have noticed supermarkets are fitting fridge doors to their chilled units to reduce costs.

Insulation and draughtproofing are needed to reduce household energy loss through walls, roof, chimney, windows and doors. Other simple but effective techniques to reduce energy use include fitting reflective foil behind radiators on external walls and using smaller, more energy efficient appliances, like slow cookers and air friers instead of large ovens. Dominic listed the grants available at present for home energy efficiency improvements and those about to start.

Amongst the audience were people who lived in old draughty houses. Others were looking into underfloor heating and installing air source heat pumps. Everyone was able to get advice and the Q&A section of the evening ran for about an hour!

If you would like to arrange a home visit from Energy Projects Plus to assess where you can make energy savings, please call 0800 043 0151, email advice@epplus.org or fill in this request form.

Plants for Diversity Hub 67

We were really pleased to be able to pass on plants to Diversity Hub 67 for their community garden on Liscard Road. Children at the Re-Rooted gardening group were able to plant up the tomatoes, squash and flowers during their Thursday afternoon sessions. We hope they enjoy watching the plants grow and that the tomatoes and squash are tasty!

Gardening course outings

Members of our various gardening courses enjoyed their outings this month. At Prenton Dell Clay Pit, they discovered wildflower meadows and spotted lots of orchids and butterflies. They also took a tour of Dale Farm in Heswall, where there are fruit and veg growing areas, a sensory garden, wooden furniture making facilities and meadows with bee hives.

Finally at the end of the month, they had a very interesting visit to Walton Hall and Gardens in Warrington. They looked at the impressive display of bromeliads in the glasshouses and admired the trees in the parkland. Everyone thought it was a fantastic place and Carol will be taking more of her gardening class groups there in future.

Falkland Road Organic Gardeners

The poppies and marigolds are in full bloom in our garden. A sight guaranteed to brighten up your day!

This month, the Falkland Road Organic Gardeners planted more carrots and leeks. They also had to do lots of watering during the heatwave. The beans and peas are ready for picking, but the potatoes have been suffering in the warm, dry conditions.

Reclaimers

WEN is home to the Reclaimers woodwork group every Tuesday morning between 10am and noon. This month they have been working on a cover for the electric radiator in the entrance hall and making large compost tampers.

We would like to offer training to volunteers in the safe use of powered hand tools (battery powered drills, jigsaws etc) for both general skill development and insurance purposes. If you have the required knowledge and are interested in helping, please email wen@la21.net

Crafters

The Crafters have continued to produce crafts and gifts which have successfully sold to people visiting WEN for classes, meetings and other events. During June the group have been continually restructuring space to accommodate a couple of large collections of craft supplies that have been donated to us.

The Crafters will be taking a summer break through July and August and will be back at WEN on Tuesday 8th September. New members are welcome to join the group when they return.

Handmade Handbags

Thanks to Rachel for being so creative and generous in donating her beautiful handmade bags to WEN for sale to support our work.

If you would like to buy one of these bags, or check out the other crafts we have on sale, pop into WEN on a Tuesday or email wen@la21.net to make arrangements to visit on a different day.

Weekly Walks

Wirral Forest CIC have continued their wellbeing walks through June (although the walk on the 23rd had to be cancelled because of the extremely hot weather). Next month, the walks will be taking place on Tuesdays 7th and 14th July before finishing for the summer. Meet at WEN at 1.30pm to explore nearby streets, trees, verges, parks and coasts.

Other events at WEN in July

‘Myths and Mysteries – Volume One: The Ancient World’ Workshop
Saturday 11th July, 10am – 1pm

Come to WEN in July for another historical adventure with Julie. Take a look at some famous myths from the Ancient World and explore whether there is any truth in them at all.

Myths:
The Great Wall of China can be seen from space
Nero played fiddle whilst Rome burnt
The Trojan horse played a part in the defeat of Troy
Julius Caesar was born by Caesarean Section
St Patrick expelled all the snakes from Ireland

You will then search for answers to four mysteries from Ancient CIvilisation and find out if modern research can help us reach any sound conclusions.

Mysteries:
What happened to all the water on Mars?
Did all dinosaurs become extinct following the impact of a meteorite?
How did Tutankhamun die?
What were the Nazca Lines for?

There will be a 20 minute break during the workshop with refreshments provided.

Cost: £15

To book a place, please contact Julie:
Email – Juliemarshall48@aol.com
Phone – 07540073731