Thank you for being with us for a dramatic and successful year, we’ve all been on a journey of discovery and fulfilment, starting new things and sharing things too. What has been the highlight for you? Here’s a little guide to what we’ve been up to…
January
The year started with Swap Shops, Green Drinks, a Repair Café and gardening at our Community Allotment. Swap Shops were full of food from Redeem Funds and people were getting used to our Tuesday afternoon sessions in the Community Room at Glamis Hall. These also hosted our Tuesday Tidy Ups with Wellie Wombles where litter pickers came in for cup of tea. Green Drinks had six people attend and the Community Allotment was looking very tidy after a successful first year.
We planted 45 more ‘Queen’s Trees’ whips at our Community Allotment Tree Nursery, making 200+ trees available to groups, charities, churches and schools for the Queen’s Green Canopy as part of Jubilee celebrations in Wellingborough. 17 people joined our end of month litter pick at a very windy Dale End Park and we picked 47 bags full of litter, a chair, a road works barrier and cycle handlebars.
February
We celebrated the first birthday of Wellie Wombles at the UGLY MUG café, and at Tuesday Tidy Ups at Glamis Hall. Our Repair Café was at Glamis Hall‘s Indoor Car Boot Sale, where we relaunched Wellingborough Swap Shop as a swap or donate project. The following Tuesday we also launched Food Sharers to save even more food from going in the bin.
In partnership with Glamis Hall we started the Wellingborough Climate Action project with an invitation to Climate Conversations and promised a year long project to look at solutions for the climate crisis. With other Wellingborough Organisations and the Co-op, New Community Resilience Forums started for local people and organisations to work on helping the community cope with the cost of living crisis.
We finished off the month with our monthly Two Hour Tidy Up, where 22 litter heroes picked 49 bags full of litter, a chair, a shopping trolley, three child car seats, a tyre and a mattress at Newcomen Road Community Garden and on the surrounding streets.
March
We held three Climate Conversations with the Wellingborough Climate Action Project, at Glamis Hall, the Victoria Centre and Hemmingwell Skills and Community Centre. 60 delegates gave their points of view during the events, which included presentations from Councillor Ed Gemmell, North Northamptonshire Council, Electric Corby, the Green Party and Wellingborough Eco Group. The events were a great opportunity for local residents to find out more about climate change.
We cleared our Community Allotment Ready for planting, whilst Food Sharers and Swap Shop really took off in March, our Tuesday afternoons had never been so busy. Food Sharers saved free food for you, with collections from shops and more from Redeem Funds and Glamis Hall. Our Wellingborough Swap Shop bring, swap or buy sale had lots of books and other items.
On the last Saturday of the month, 35 #LitterHeroes took part in the Great British Spring Clean Two Hour Tidy Up in Wellingborough Town Centre, run in partnership with Wellingborough Town Council who are supplied our Wellie Wombles with new kit. We picked 50 bags of litter, five shopping trolleys, traffic cones and various cardboard boxes.
April
April kicked off with our regular Tuesday Tidy Ups, Food Sharers, Swap Shop and Green Drinks. Swap Shop started doing clothes and this proved very popular, saving loads of items from landfill and saving people lots of money! Repair Café during the indoor car boot sale fixed lots of items including a phone charger, key rings, dog collar, dog harness, vacuum cleaner, strimmer and a laptop fixed by Jonathan, and on her debut as a repairer a hiking pole and perfume bottle were fixed by Judy!
Pop up Swap Shops at Glamis Hall’s indoor car boot and at Animals in Need where we also had a Teddy and Easter Egg Tombola! Gina started her Community Garden on Hardwick Road by building raised beds, ably assisted by a few Eco Group volunteers; and lots of trees were distributed from the Community Allotment Tree Nursery as part of our Queen’s Green Canopy project, to community organisations and local councils in and around Wellingborough, including St Marks Church, Finedon Town Council and Greatwell Homes.
And at the end of the month Wellingborough Swap Shop collected lots of clothes, toys, books and crockery from Rushden Transport Museum as part of Nick Knowles Big House Clearout; and 23 litter heroes took part in our Two Hour Tidy for the Waendal Walk in Castlefields park and along the Embankment, picking up 29 bags full of litter, a shopping trolley, an incinerator and an upholstered box.
May
Wellingborough Climate Action Project started their workshops with four Energy Savers sessions, all focused on saving energy, understanding how we use it efficiently and thinking about renewable energy generation. The first on the 19th was Energy Basics, we discussed the basics about saving energy at home or at work and highlighted any quick wins. This was all about sharing ideas with those that joined us. There was also an Energy Use workshop at the end of the month.
Wellingborough Swap Shop was at Glamis Hall‘s Outdoor Car Boot Sale in the Community Room and all items were available for swaps or a small donation to the group. Our Repair Café was in the reception of Glamis Hall, but was very quiet. We held an Indoor Second Hand Market at Wilby Working Men’s Club and had a Plant Sale at Wellingborough Swap Shop at the end of the month.
Our Two Hour Tidy Up was in Croyland Gardens, where 16 litter picking heroes swept, lifted and picked 21 bags of litter, plus a scooter, piece of carpet and a full bag of compost! Wellingborough Library held a Jubilee Scarecrow festival, and both Wellingborough Eco Group and Wellie Wombles entered scarecrows.
June
At our Community Allotment, had a lot of stuff to get in, with plants left over from Wellingborough Swap Shop and more donated. Summer had started and there was no time to waste, but the flowers and weeds had taken over, so there was plenty to do! And we still had trees to go in for the Queens Green Canopy at out Tree Nursery too.
Wellingborough Climate Action Project’s Energy Savers Workshops continued with an Energy Saving Workshop and concluded the series with a Renewable Energy and Heating Workshop; in the second half of that workshop, we looked at Renewable Heating in greater detail, with a presentation from Darleen McCullough of Energywise Wales.
We had the Repair Café and Wellingborough Swap Shop on Saturday 11th June, in the Community Room and had a couple of other stalls with us outside. Our Repair Café looked at 3 printers, a lamp, a toaster, a hoover and a clock; and the Saturday Swap Shop had loads of stuff too, so much so we had books, DVDs and toys outside! Tuesday Swap Shops and Food Sharers continued with even more food and drink available, plus lots of great pre-loved items to swap or for a small donation.
15 litter picking heroes that took part in our Two Hour Tidy Up at the Bassett’s Close at the Armed Forces Family Fun Day. We picked 16 bags of litter, a plank of wood and a broken scooter. Thank you also to Dave from North Northants Council collected the bags. We also had a games stall at Fun Day and a great day was had by all.
July
We held a Wellingborough Swap Shop’s Big Summer Clear Out where we invited people to bring 1 bag, bring £2, bring yourself and fill their bag with clothes, books, DVDs, bric-a-brac and toys. Larger items was priced but nothing was more than £5. Weekly Swap Shops, Food Sharers and Tuesday Tidy Ups continued every Tuesday afternoon. We also held a games stall at Glamis Hall’s Family Festival.
Wellingborough Climate Action Project’s Sustainable Workshops started with a series of sessions looking at all aspects of sustainability. The first was an Assessing Our Impact Workshop and later in the month a Transition Workshop. At this workshop we looked at what does a sustainable life and work look and feel like and how can we get there (you can watch any of the workshops by clicking the links) The month concluded with a Sustainable Buildings Workshop.
This month’s special Love Parks Week group litter pick took place in Hemmingwell Park. 20 litter picking heroes that took part in our Two Hour Tidy Up and picked 56 bags of litter, a chair, some carpet and a shopping trolley, with the Hemmingwell Community & Skills Centre making us all cups of tea and coffee.
August
In August we were very excited to announce ECO HUB, the new home for Wellingborough Eco Group! Opening from 1st September 2022 and available 7 days a week at Glamis Hall in the Community Room for lots of events and activities. Heather Saunders, Chair of Trustees at Glamis Hall and Jonathan Hornett, Secretary of Wellingborough Eco Group, signed the lease this week for this exciting new facility.
The month started with Swap Shop, Food Sharers, Tuesday Tidy Ups and Green Drinks as usual, 7 people enjoyed a drink at The Queen’s Head on the first Tuesday of the month. Swap Shop and Food Sharers again was getting popular, with more food to share every week, including sandwiches and fridge food from Co-op Redhill. Shap shop had an abundance of toys, which kept the local kids happy. We also had a stall at the Town Council’s Summer Art Festival at ‘The Beach’ in Wellingborough Town Centre.
Wellingborough Climate Action Project’s summer series of Sustainability Workshops continued with with a workshop on Food and Waste. Jonathan lead an interactive workshop, ably assisted by Marion, plus Kerry from Food For Thought and Mary from Redeem Funds, who both presented their own sections. A further Moving to Sustainable Transport Workshop considered our transport options, with most modes and we compared their impacts.
Working Parties continued at the Community Allotment every Wednesday afternoon, but the weeds were winning and our Queen’s Trees were needing plenty of watering. Our end of month litter pick was a Bank Holiday Special, so we decided to tidy up the Town Centre and hold our second stall of the month on the market, this time with a community focus. 13 people who turned out for our monthly Two Hour Tidy Up and lots of little bits of litter picked, 15 bags filled!
September
To mark ECO HUB‘s opening day on the 1st September, we had a Celebration Café with free tea, coffee, cakes and pop, to start our ECO HUB with a pop! We then held an Energy Savers Workshop for people to come to and find out how saving energy saves you money. September also marks our third birthday, plenty to celebrate then! Join in, get involved, go ECO HUB!
New projects were added, Eco-Crafters on Wednesdays 1-3pm, Happy Cafes on Thursdays 12-2pm and Eco Club for Kids on Fridays 12-3pm. Repair Cafés were re-started and Swap Shops, Food Sharers and Tuesday Tidy Ups continued in their normal slot of 2-6pm. At the end of the month it was the Great Big Green Week, and we opened everyday with a different project on each!
This included a Climate Café and a Two Hour Tidy Up at ECO HUB, litter picking Queensway Park, where 15 litter pickers picked 25 bags of litter, a bike, some metal poles and various plastic things. The Climate Café was very popular, particularly with thirsty Wellie Wombles! We also made the teas at Wellingborough’s ‘Concert in the Park’ in Castlefields, serving up 95 cups of tea and coffee, plus snacks and lots of lovely homemade cakes.
Wellingborough Climate Action Project‘s Sustainability Workshops continued with a look at Nature and Pollution, where we discussed bio-diversity, talked about our impact on nature; and we then looked at air, water, land and plastic pollution, and at reducing waste in rivers and seas. To finish off with we worked on more sustainable living solutions.
October
We relaunched Repair Café on Saturday the 8th October 2022, at ECO HUB. We have set up a booking system, so people wanting items to be fixed are given a time slot to avoid waiting too long. Book your time slot now on our Repair Café page! Teas and cakes are also served to everyone who is attending.
The Co-op held their Sustainability Live event at ECO HUB on Thursday 6th October 12-2, for local people so they can find out about what the Co-op is doing to help tackle climate change and how they can play their part. Wellingborough Eco Group became a Co-op Local Community Fund cause, to find out more about our project and to choose us as your cause, click here https://membership.coop.co.uk/causes/73956
We had a Swap Shop, Food Sharers and information stall at the Victoria Centre for One World Week event, because this time the theme was sustainability, and held our monthly Two Hour Tidy up there, where our 24 litter picking heroes this morning who filled 30 bags of litter, plus two trollies, carpet, a paint tub and a kids car seat at our monthly Two Hour Tidy Up today. Free coats for kids from LIVE Team were added to Swap Shops, whilst Tuesday Tidy Ups, Food Sharers, Eco-Crafters, Happy Cafes and Eco- Club for Kids sessions continued at ECO HUB.
Wellingborough Climate Action Project finished off the Sustainability Workshops with what we need to adapt and at ways to adapt. This was the final workshop of the series of eleven, so it started off with a review and finished off with a question-and-answer session. You can watch all of the Workshops and more at wcap.org.uk/video
November
November started as usual with Tuesday Tidy Ups, Swap Shop, Food Sharers and Green Drinks. Greatwell Homes joined us at the first Happy Café of the month with their Warm Homes Team to give residents help and advice on how to keep warm this winter. Other Happy Cafes included Replay Board Games and Energy Savers sessions. Eco-Crafters and Eco Club for Kids were having fun, plus we had a few working parties up at the Community Allotment.
We had a stall at Nenescape, Sywell Aerodrome sharing what we do with delegates attending the conference. Lots of other organisations here too with the 80+ people from business, local government and community history and nature focused organisations. We had a Repair Café, Baby Wellingborough Swap Shop at ECO HUB and Glamis Hall Indoor Boot Sale and a a one off Vegan Food Sharers at Northants Vegan Food and Cruelty Free Fair at Animals in Need. Northants Veggies and Vegans also held their first Vegan Winter Warmer at ECO HUB.
At our Two Hour Tidy Up, 30 litter picking heroes that joined in Castlefields Park and around the surrounding streets to fill 36 bags with litter, plus retrieved a piece of tarpaulin, a scooter, a shopping trolley, three gas bottles and a baby walker! 30 people also joined in on the 30th to plant trees from our Community Allotment Tree Nursery in Castlefields Park, donated to Wellingborough Town Council, to create a copse of Rowan trees for the Queen’s Green Canopy and one Oak for King Charles.
Wellingborough Climate Action Project held two more Climate Conversations with the first on Friday 25th November 2022 at the Victoria Centre and at Glamis Hall on the 1st December. Both had presentations from WCAP, plus speakers from Wellingborough Town Council at Victoria Centre. Wellingborough Eco Group also did a presentation at both.
December
December is Advent Calendar month, and we embrace this to tell you all about the the good things for the community and environment that are happening in and around Wellingborough. This year’s calendar focused in part on the new Warm Spaces that are popping up all around the town. Click on the link to see all of them.
Glamis Hall and Wellingborough Eco Group are hosting Winter Warm Spaces, these started in the ECO HUB on the 1st December and take place on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, during December, January, February and March. We will also offer various themed Winter Warmers at weekends and Glamis Hall will offer a Winter Warm Space in their VIP Café on the second and fourth Saturday’s of the month.
ECO HUB has been really busy too, with Swap Shops and Food Sharers on Tuesdays and more. On Christmas Eve we held a special Food Sharers to recue food from local supermarkets in partnership with Redeem Funds. We opened again on Christmas Wednesday for an Unwanted Christmas Present Swap Shop too. Tonight Northants Veggies and Vegans are holding a New Year’s Eve Vegan Winter Warmer, and everyone is invited.
Wellingborough Climate Action Project‘s Climate Conversations continued at Glamis Hall on the 1st December. WCAP and Wellingborough Eco Group were this time joined by North Northants Council at Glamis Hall for a great conversation about the climate crisis and what we need to do about it.
A very busy year for Wellingborough Eco Group, thank you all for your support, hope to see you again soon, happy New Year everyone!
