March 2023 News
We held our annual Team and Trustee meeting on the morning of 4th March. We had lots of interesting discussions about ideas for the year ahead and are now starting to put them into action!
The call for help at the Wirral Repair Cafe was so successful that we nearly ran out of chairs when WEN hosted the meeting for volunteers on 4th March. It was great to see so many people with the skills and enthusiasm needed to get this project off the ground. Plans are moving ahead, with venue ideas being checked out and the formalities of setting up a new organisation being worked through.
One side of a full room of Wirral Repair Cafe volunteers
Wirral Repair Cafe was chosen to pitch at Wirral SOUP on 29th March. This is an event held at Future Yard, Birkenhead to raise money for community projects. Guests pay £3 for a ticket and can also donate what they feel on the evening. Shortlisted projects pitch to the audience and each ticket holder votes for their favourite. The winner gets all the ticket sale money plus donations for their project. Unfortunately Wirral Repair Cafe didn’t win but it was a great evening with lots of support and many people saying what a great thing the Wirral Repair Cafe will be. Congratulations to the winners, Positivity Club, a group supporting children’s mental health.
Wirral Repair Cafe has signed up to be part of Wirral MakeFest on Saturday 3rd June. The day will be a community celebration of makers from science, arts and technology, with an emphasis on sustainability.
If you are a maker, craftsperson, educator, coder or performer who would like to be part of MakeFest, please apply here:
https://wirralmakefest.org/
Wirral MakeFest also needs volunteers. If you would like to get involved, please fill in this form:
https://wirralmakefest.org/
Apply to take part in Wirral MakeFest on 3rd June
You can keep track of developments and find out when the first Wirral Repair Cafe will take place by following these social media accounts:
www.facebook.com/
https://www.instagram.com/
On 20th March, Energy Projects Plus ran a ‘Take Control of Your Energy Bills’ workshop at WEN. The workshop taught how to understand an energy bill and gave top tips to save money and reduce carbon emissions.
There will be another energy bills workshop at WEN on Monday 15th May, 10am to 12pm. If you would like to book a place, please email wen@la21.net
Energy Projects Plus ‘Take Control of Your Energy Bills’ workshop
On 27th March, members of the WEN team visited Veolia’s Gillmoss Recycling Discovery Centre in Liverpool for a tour of the Materials Recovery Facility to see recycling in action. We were also reminded what you can and can’t recycle at home in our grey bins. Veolia offers free visits for any education, community and uniformed groups who are based in Merseyside and Halton. For more details, see their website:
https://www.merseyside-and-halton.veolia.co.uk/RDC
WEN visit to Gillmoss Recycling Discover Centre
Watching waste being sorted for recycling
We held Eco Action workshops at The Voice of Egremont throughout March. We talked about community carbon footprints, waste and recycling, food, help to reduce energy, free trees and lots more. The Voice of Egremont Community Hub has lots going on, plus everything from a book swap to local eggs! Check out The Voice of Egremont Residents & Tenants Association Facebook page to find out about all their activities.
The Voice of Egremont Community Hub
The Voice of Egremont’s book swap area
You can book these Community Climate Action workshops for your own community group, to be held at WEN or your group location. Non-profit groups just pay what the group can afford.
The four themed workshops teach low cost and creative ways to fight climate change and feature presentations, games and lots of chat.
To discuss booking the group workshops, please email wen@la21.net
Book WEN Community Climate Action Workshops
You can also arrange a school visit to WEN. Activities can include:
Book a school visit to WEN
The groups that meet at WEN were kept busy, with the Crafters prepping materials for a guided upcycling session and the Reclaimers preparing some plant tables. Also, Tom finished making some bird boxes as part of his Prince’s Trust work experience.
The WEN Crafters
Bird boxes made by Tom for his Prince’s Trust placement
