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National Vegetarian Week

CHOOSE VEGGIE!
CHOOSE CLIMATE!
CHOOSE WILDLIFE!

Our wildlife is under threat due to climate change, with some of the UK’s most recognisable and well-loved species at risk of extinction. Eating veggie is one of the simplest things we can all do to reduce our own carbon emissions. Join the thousands of others signing up to National Vegetarian Week today.

Help tackle the climate crisis

At times we all wonder what we can do to make a difference in the face of climate change. The answer is simple: eating more plant-based foods. By choosing vegetarian meals, we can all have less impact on our iconic wildlife, whose homes are adversely affected by the climate crisis.

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Swap one meal or eat veggie for the whole week. Just go for it!

Pledge to act now and you’ll get:

  • The chance to win one of five £100 vouchers for Bella Italia (View the terms & conditions)
  • Delicious carbon-calculated recipes from Cauldron, Bosh!, Ella Mills and more. You’ll see how much difference you could make by eating veggie!
  • Information about how choosing veggie food protects the wildlife we all know and love!
  • Veggie offers and discounts
  • Exclusive online talks during the week
  • Helpful daily tips to bring fresh ideas to your meals!

and lots, lots more…

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#NationalVegetarianWeek

SWAP SHOP TOMORROW!

Wellingborough Swap Shop is at Glamis Hall‘s Outdoor Car Boot Sale tomorrow!

We will be in the Community Room and all items will be available for swaps or a small donation to the group. You can bring something and swap it for something else or you can buy something on a ‘pay as you feel’ basis with a donation to the group.

The Wellingborough Swap Shop Facebook group is run in the same way, with lots of new items going to be added by admins daily from various businesses locally. Swap Shops also take place every week on Tuesday afternoons, 2-6 in Glamis Hall’s Community Room, which will also be a collection point for items from the Facebook group too.

So, pop along, grab a bargain or swap with us, save items from landfill and support the other stalls at the Outdoor Car Boot Sale. See you there!

Swap Shop

Repair Café This Saturday!

Wellingborough Eco Group and Glamis Hall are hosting the Repair Café at a special one off Outdoor Car Boot Sale, 9 -12 on Saturday 14th May.

Repair Cafes are community events that match people who need stuff fixed with people who like fixing things. Repair Cafes are completely non-commercial. There are no promises and no guarantees, but if something can be saved the repairers will give it their best efforts. Repairers are always keen to teach you how to do the repair – or at least have you watch while they do it.

A bicycle, clothing in need of repair, small electrical or electronic appliances, lamps, toys, mobile phones, laptops, printers, items that need gluing, a clean/repair etc. You can basically bring anything you can carry that will not make a mess in the venue.

Whatever it is, it might not even be broken – just dirty, and you don’t know how to clean it without damaging it – or you can’t work out how to use it without the manual – bring it along! There is no charge for entry or repair but donations are gratefully received and help pay for costs.

See you on Saturday morning at Glamis Hall where we try to fix your broken items for FREE!

Litter Picking the Waendel Walk

Part One, Castle Fields to the Embankment

Wellingborough Eco Group and Wellie Wombles

Thank you to the 23 litter heroes that took part in our Two Hour Tidy this morning. At first glance, the park, road and Embankment looked Tidy enough, but we still managed to pick 29 bags full of litter, a shopping trolley, an incinerator and an upholstered box.

Great to see so many children today out today too! Thank you Arjun and Himani, Mohapi and Pretty, Este, Fraser and Judy, Billy, Emma, and Jonathan, Georgina and Freddie, Sue and Dave, Noah and Melanie, Jessica, Cheryl and Erroll, Niall, Al, John and Tricia for all your hard work. Thank you also to Marion, Karon and everyone who stopped and thanked us!

Part Two of our Waendel Walk litter picking activities are mass Wombles just before our town’s famous international walking weekend, that starts on Friday 13th May; keep an eye on the Wellie Wombles Facebook group to see where we’re litter picking…

The next Wellingborough Eco Group Two Hour Tidy Up will be on the last Saturday morning of May on the 28th from 10 till 12. The location is to be decided so let us know if you have an area of concern, but for now it’s Bank Holiday Weekend, please keep Wellingborough tidy, have a great one!

Waendel Route Litter Pick

This Month’s Two Hour Tidy Up takes place on this Saturday (30th April) at Castle Fields and we will be litter picking the route of the Waendel Walk from the Castle to and including the Embankment. We will be setting up our Recycling Station from 9:30 at the Irthlingborough Road Entrance to Castle Fields, for litter picking between 10 and 12. We will be litter picking the park, riverside and streets along the route.

This location has been chosen by Freddie Harris from Wellie Wombles. As a group we have tidied up this area before, but unfortunately there’s still a lot to do. This is the first litter pick of two that we are doing for the Waendel Walk, the next on Monday 9th May will be a mass Womble checking this area and other Waendel routes.

To help us and keep us safe at this and future litter picks, Wellingborough Eco Group have purchased some litter pickers, hi-vis vests and safety equipment including road signs, so everything is provided but please bring your own gloves if you can.

Free Fair Trade tea and Coffee available (donated by Co-op). Social distancing is a must, hand sanitiser will be available, please do not come if you have covid-19 symptoms, but apart from that, ALL WELCOME!

Stanwell Community Garden

The next session at the Community Garden is today at 2pm, when we will be moving the rest of the grass to the new compost bin and finishing the outside of the latest raised bed. Everything will need watering as we are not due any more rain this month…

So join in with Gina, Wednesday 27th April, 2pm, Stanwell Community Garden, Old Hardwick Road (at the end of the cycle track off Medway Drive) Just look for the flags!

Why not join in with this and at our Community Allotment on Facebook too!

Tuesday Tidy Ups, Swap Shop and Food Sharers Today

Join Wellingborough Eco Group and Wellie Wombles this afternoon at Glamis Hall in their Community Room for all of this:

Wellingborough Swap Shop has lots of clothes, toys, books and crockery that we collected from Rushden Transport Museum as part of Nick Knowles Big House Clearout. Much of the clothing and household items have been saved from landfill for the Wellingborough Ukrainian guests and sponsors but there’s still loads left! All available as swaps or for a small donation.

Teddy Tombola 🧸 for the kids because it’s half term, just 50p for 5 tickets and 1/5 tickets could win you a Teddy or even an Easter Egg!

Tuesday Tidy Ups, why not have a go at litter picking? We have the pickers, hoops and bags for you to borrow, the parks have been busy which unfortunately usually means so have the litter louts.

Food Sharers has lots of fresh food, saved from local supermarkets and it’s all FREE! Our food club has drinks, popcorn and more, plus tomato and strawberry plants so you can join in the spirit of our Community Allotment and grow your own.

Plus, if that wasn’t enough already, we have FREE Fairtrade tea and coffee available from Co-op Member Pioneer Wellingborough. Pop in for a hot drink and join in with everything else! See you between 2-6 this afternoon!

Gina Invites You To Garden For The Community

Several years ago Gina decided that the area at the top of the cycle track that cuts across Medway Drive would make a lovely community garden. It was a waste of space created when Niort Way was made. The cycle track carries on down the hill but the old road goes on to a dead end. Perfect for a wildflower meadow and some raised beds on the tarmac area.

The County Council said it was not their land and Wellingborough Council cut the grass but would not admit it was their land. The current Mayor at the time told her to “Go for it! Who is going to bother about a few plants?”

So began her guerilla garden. She stopped the council cutting the grass and let it grow wild. She sowed wildflower seeds and yellow rattle to weaken the grass and let the wildflowers grow. She made raised beds out of old pallets and planted vegetables. Just when she was about to get people involved, COVID hit. So she carried on alone.

The yellow rattle grew and thrived. The raised beds survived. Parsley did very well. More wildflowers appeared and so did the butterflies. Now it is finally time to see if anyone else is interested in a community garden. If you would like to come and see it Gina will be there this Saturday at 11am.

It is time to hang up the bunting again, put straw round the strawberries, plant radishes and water the raised beds. If you or your children would like to help, come along on Saturday 16th April and lend a hand. (All children must be accompanied by an adult) Let’s hope it’s sunny!

Easter Swap Shop at the Spring Fair

Do you fancy swaps and bargains? Do you fancy a Teddy Tombola? Of course you do! Well why not join us, lots of other stalls and our friends at Animals In Need, Little Irchester, 11-3 on Easter Sunday!?!

Join us to support our favourite animal rescue charity and to support our Wellingborough Swap Shop to help us to support Wellingborough Ukrainian refugees and sponsors with clothing and other essential items.

Lots of #veganfood available at the Vegan Cafe. Lots of fun too, see you on Sunday 🐰

Today at Repair Café & Swap Shop

Wellingborough Eco Group & Glamis Hall

Thank you everyone for coming and joining in this morning! Lots fixed and swapped, saving loads of items from landfill and saving people lots of money!

Our usual repairers were replaced by Virtual Simon this morning, but he was only called upon once at the Repair Cafe, because Judy and Jonathan fixed the rest! Two hard drives taken in for Simon when he is feeling better. Phone charger, key rings, dog collar, dog harness, vacuum cleaner, strimmer and a laptop fixed by Jonthan, and on her debut as a repairer a hiking pole and perfume bottle were fixed by Judy!

Wellingborough Swap Shop also had a great stall with Kat, ably assisted by Judy again, in the hall, which included quite a few Food Club eggs! Our kiddywinks Elora and Billy had a great time too 😍

Thank you Judy, Jonathan, Emma (who helped out) and Kat. Thank you Sarah and everyone at Glamis Hall for hosting us, well done all!