Your environmentally friendly group in Wellingborough is seven years old!
Wellingborough Eco Group has been improving our borough’s environment, to reduce, reuse and recycle items that would otherwise end up in landfill, and to help local people reduce their carbon footprints for seven years.
Wellingborough Eco Group is all about you and what we can all do environmentally locally in a friendly and positive way. We have been working with local councillors, businesses and community organisations and hosting various activities including Repair Cafes, Green Drinks, Swap Shops, Wellie Wombles and our monthly Two Hour Tidy Ups to make Wellingborough greener for everyone.
ECO HUB is the home of Wellingborough Eco Group, here Emma with a little help from Jonathan, tells you all about it!
ECO HUB opened on 1st September 2022 in Glamis Hall. It has lots’ of activities for everyone and is busier than ever. It all started with before then with Tuesday Tidy Ups, then Wellingborough Swap Shop and now hosts activities including sewing, sharing food and kids groups.
ECO HUB is now based at Swansgate Centre, in the old Argos unit, for the next. We have taken on the space with The Artist Window, a charity supporting local creative arts for the benefit of local communities, to benefit our local community.
Wellie Wombles and Eco Group litter pick on Tuesdays, and on other days. It is where it all started for the group seven years ago!
Wellie Wombles came into being during the first covid lock down in February 2021. When we walked a great deal more locally by way of exercise and as a result saw a great deal more litter! So much so that we started litter picking as we walked, then inspired by others across the county, Freddie decided to make use of social media to form our own group.
On the last Saturday of every month, Wellingborough Eco Group and Wellie Wombles carry out a two hour tidy up with numerous volunteers. We litter pick an area that is generally chosen by the previous months litter pickers, unless there’s an event to clear up before for.
We don’t just litter pick or save items, at our Community Allotment we grows things, including people, well they grow with us!
Wellingborough Eco Group have taken on a plot at Ladywell allotments in Wellingborough, to give people the chance to share skills and to grow plants. The site was cleared and is now a user-friendly space to grow fruit, vegetables and other plants to benefit the community.
Anyone can volunteer at the Community Allotment, you don’t have to know anything about gardening and tools will be provided. We have working parties at the allotment on Wednesdays, these are advertised on our dedicated Facebook group at facebook.com/groups/communityallotment, meet you at the gates to the allotment at the end of Hillside Road, or call 07311 705705 to get in…
Wellingborough Repair Cafe was the second thing we started, and has been fixing things for people for almost seven years too!
Repair Café is repairing broken items together, getting advice, encounters and inspiration. Repair Cafés are community events that match people who need stuff fixed with people who like fixing things. We moved to a new location in September last year, Repair Cafes are now at the Victoria Centre (46-50 Palk Road Wellingborough NN8 1HR).
They take place on the Second Saturday of each month, 9am – 12 noon (except August). Previously we have asked anyone bringing an item to be fixed at the Repair Café to register it beforehand, but rather than registering, you can just turn up! There are no promises and no guarantees, but if something can be saved the repairers will give it their best efforts.
And of course that is not all we do, for example our Nature Rangers have planted over three thousand trees in Wellingborough over the last two years. Here Jonathan highlights some of the group activities for BBC Radio Northampton.
We have been nominated for the Environmental Award category at this year’s BBC Radio Northampton Make a Difference Awards. You can read more about it here. and we have won Environmental Awards from Wellingborough Town Council and Freddie and Jonathan have been awarded the Rose of Nothamptonshire too. But that’s not the story of the last seven years, you are!
Our amazing volunteers are and many support the group officially by joining us! Membership is free and open to everyone. There are no requirements to join our group, all that we ask members to do is to is to agree to our Terms of Membership and to operate in accordance with the objectives and aims, as set out in the constitution of the group, at the group activities and in our social media groups. Join us today, Happy Birthday everyone!