Advent Calendar – Page 5 – Wellingborough Eco Group

Christmas Tree Festival

Today’s Advent Calendar window opens for the United Reformed Church on the High Street, who are hosting their second Christmas Tree Festival, which starts today! There are 40 trees on show, decorated by schools, businesses, groups and individuals from the town. Come and see them 5:00-8:00pm today, 10:00-4:00pm tomorrow and 1:00-4:00pm on Sunday. Admission is £2, accompanied children are free.

Here Kay, Cynthia and Claire from the URC, tell us on video all about the festival, and the project it is raising funds for.

The Project

After many years of planning, High Street United Reformed Church are embarking on their largest project since the current Church building was opened in 1875. The aim is to make the Church more welcoming and amenable to all the people of the town and beyond. The project received Planning Approval in April 2017 and is fund-raising to make the dream a reality. The Project, with estimated costs of £600,000 consists of four stages:

New external ramp to the front of the Church to allow for an easier, more dignified and inclusive access to those with disabilities and for coffin bearers at funerals.
New glazed door providing an elegant and secure enclosure to the external lobby.
The foyer, under the balcony, will be enclosed by a glazed partition through which you can enter the worship area of the Church. The foyer, which will become the High Street HUB, will be a multi-functional area, separately heated and encasing a servery and a meeting room.
The existing main worship area of the Church will be redecorated.

The most exciting change is to the foyer, creating The High Street HUB. They already hold Coffee mornings daily in the Church, which attract a number of regulars, some of whom are out of work and some are homeless and in need of a safe place for refreshment and a friendly chat, but this could be better.

Creating The HUB will enable the United Reformed Church to offer better services to the local community. With easily heated and adaptable spaces for use by the whole community that are easily accessible by all and right on the High Street!

The HUB will give the church the opportunity to do what they currently do and more, with a purpose-built servery, offering quality light refreshments; and a meeting room that’s able to seat 40 persons, for small gatherings, for those seeking counsel and for further outreach work.

The church will be moving services into Salem Hall during January, February and March because of heating costs and to start work on their new hub.

The Trees

With 40 trees on display, you would expect variety, but at Wellingborough Christmas Tree Festival, there are some really unusual takes on the traditional festive focal point. Most are pretty, some are large, and others make a point. Victoria Centre, Wellingborough Library, Glamis Hall, Weavers Academy and Wellingborough Lions are just some of the organisations that have displayed a tree.

Look out for our ECO HUB Tree, it’s been growing at our Community Allotment for three years after being saved from the bin, and it’s been decorated with a recycling fairy and painted milk bottle tops by our Eco-Crafters group. Wellie Wombles have one too made out of cardboard and decorated with litter.

Please note that the picture at the top and video are from last year’s festival, you’ll have to go to see this year’s trees! Come and see them this evening 5:00-8:00pm, 10:00-4:00pm tomorrow and 1:00-4:00pm on Sunday. Admission is £2, accompanied children are free.

Winter Warm Space

Welcome to the first day of our Advent Calendar! Today we open a window for our new Winter Warm Space that starts today! Glamis Hall and Wellingborough Eco Group are hosting Winter Warm Space at ECO HUB on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, during December, January, February and March. We will also offer various themed Winter Warmers at weekends. Find them at ECO HUB, Glamis Hall, Goldsmith Road, Wellingborough, NN8 3RU.

Here Jonathan tells you all about the new Winter Warm Space at ECO HUB

Every Winter Warm Space will have activities, hot food and hot drinks. Mondays are mutual support sessions, with people on hand to give you a hand. Tuesdays are all about food, making it and sharing it. Thursdays are Happy Cafes, with games and an open Zoom so you can either join in on your computer or invite your friends and relatives to join you online. There is no need to book just come in, grab a coffee or tea, and keep warm with us and others.

Winter Warm Spaces are for anyone in need of warmth & community, they are a free warm space to share with others. We are a mutual support service from Glamis Hall, funded by the Community Matters Fund, facilitated by Wellingborough Eco Group in partnership with Redeem Funds, Co-op, Wellingborough Climate Action Project and other Wellingborough Organisations.

For more information email or call Jonathan on 07311 705705. For other warm spaces in Wellingborough see Warm Spaces – Wellingborough. Join us at ECO HUB, Glamis Hall every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 10-2, for fun activities, hot food and hot drinks at our Winter Warm Space. See you there!

Advent Calendar 2022

We are doing our advent calendar again this year of local businesses and community organisations, and this time the focus is on good things happening in Wellingborough – good things for the environment, good things for people.

We did this last year to promote those who offer eco-friendly services and those who are making a difference in Wellingborough and in the surrounding area, and to build Wellingborough Eco Map, a guide of local eco-friendly services.

If you offer an eco-friendly service or are a community organisation, particularly if you are having a Christmas event, send us your story and a logo and we will do our best to find a window for you!

The window will be linked to our blog with an article all about what you offer. You’ll also be put on Wellingborough Eco Map and on the Wellingborough Organisations website too!

If you would you like your business or service on our advent calendar this year, and on Wellingborough Eco Map, email info@wellingboroughecogroup.org.uk, visit us at ECO HUB Glamis Hall, call or WhatsApp 07311 705705, or message us on social media.

Our Advent Calendar will be updated with a new window opening every day until Christmas Eve, shared here and across our social media outlets; and by the way, it starts on the 1st December…

Happy Christmas Everyone

This month we have featured lots of great community and eco-friendly services available in and around Wellingborough on our Advent Calendar. It has been a real treat being able to talk to so many amazing people, and it’s been a pleasure sharing their groups, charities and businesses with you. For those that may have missed some of our Advent Calendar windows, here are all of them:

All of the above and more are on Wellingborough Eco Map and on the Wellingborough Organisations website. Please do support them or use their services, and share our blog posts and videos to promote them. Our videos are also available on our YouTube channel. If you want to discover more ‘eco-friendly’ services available locally, last year’s Advent Calendar is also worth a look.

Just for fun, here is a Christmas treat for everyone:

Festive fun with the Raunds Ukulele Group, featuring two of our committee members, Judy and Freddie

We would like to thank you all for everything you have done for us and for our community this year. We wish everyone a very happy and healthy Christmas.

Greetings From Kwanzaa!

Its the final Advent Calendar window of this year, and it seems apt to open it for Made with Many and their Black Community Forum with greetings from Kwanzaa! After the success of this year’s Black History Month and Diwali events, Made With Many’s Black Community Forum have set up two further activities in Wellingborough.

You can enjoy two free celebrations of Kwanzaa at the end of this year and the beginning of 2022! Kuumba or Creativity will be celebrated at Greetings From Kwanzaa on 31st December and a celebration of all Seven Principles of Kwanzaa is happening on 1st January 2022, both at Wellingborough African Caribbean Association.

The festival of Kwanzaa is celebrated every year from 26th December lasting for seven days and coming to a festive end on 1st January. For those seven days, each day a different principle is highlighted – Unity, Self-determination, Collective Work and Responsibility, Cooperative Economics, Purpose, Creativity and Faith.

Come and celebrate the 6th principle of Kwanzaa, ‘Kuumba’, or ‘Creativity’ on the sixth day of Kwanzaa, Friday 31st December, 2pm-5pm. A free event for the whole family with an amazing line-up of artists leading on fun with creative activities that everyone can participate in:

Cinnamon Arts Group – Creating a Kwanzaa banner with creative input from everyone
Lemonpop Workshops – Make your own Kwanzaa Card and help create a Kwanzaa Canvas
Gerry Elliott – Creating the music of Kwanzaa giving everyone a chance on the drums
Words by Alliouagana Pearl – Storytelling and colouring activities for the children

Followed by some light refreshments and a chance to win some prizes in a Kwanzaa Quiz! And the finishing the afternoon with performances by the Singer Serwaah and the UAA drummers and dancers leaving with your Kwanzaa Goody Bag!

You are also invited in the spirit of Kwanzaa to a celebration of The Seven Principles of Kwanzaa on Saturday 1st January, 11am – 2pm , with Brother Omowale leading the ceremony. Enjoy drumming, singing, storytelling, activities and gifts for children, share the soul food feast and much more!

Hosted by Wellingborough African Caribbean Association, (WACA) in partnership with the Black Community Forum (part of Made With Many) and supported by Arts Council England. Visit WACA at 27-29 Rock Street, Wellingborough NN8 4LW [link to map]

Made With Many Programme Extended

Initially, Made with Many had received funding from the National Lottery for their programme of cultural activities in both Corby and Wellingborough from 2020 until 2023; and earlier this month, Arts Council England announced plans to invest further National Lottery funding in the Made With Many programme, to allow their work to continue until the end of March 2025.

Helen Willmott, programme director of Made With Many, said: “We are thrilled that this additional investment from Arts Council England will enable us to continue the Made With Many programme across both Corby and Wellingborough, thanks to National Lottery players. We’ll be able to continue to offer a wide range of creative activities to communities, putting local people in the lead of their own cultural experiences and working with incredible artists to co-create new work.”

Made with Many are a community-led arts programme covering Wellingborough and Corby, which produces events and activities designed to surprise, delight and inspire. As that magical time of year approaches it has been great to see them support activities in the community that bring people together at Christmas.

Their programme aims to encourage more people than ever before to take the lead in experiencing, creating and taking part in high-quality arts and cultural activities. Through conversations with local people and community decision-making panels, Made With Many puts the community at the heart of commissioning artists and producing new and exciting events.

One example was when The Eloquent Fold (Made With Many Associate Artists, Carole Miles and Phiona Richards) visited the Daylight Centre at the beginning of December to run some creative workshops to decorate the centre. The lanterns and tree decorations they produced were bright and cheerful, and lots of people at the centre were keen to get involved.

Join in, to get involved find them on Facebook, Twitter and at madewithmany.org.

Disability Forum

Today’s Advent Calendar window opens for Teamwork Trust who are organising Disability Forums, as part of a wider project called Community Champions. Teamwork Trust is working with Support Northamptonshire on the project, which aims to accelerate the offering of helpful advice, guidance and vaccination information to the disabled community to ensure that they remain safe.

Community Champions provide practical help to enable IT access, access to food and other provisions as well as encouraging people to take part in events and activities that contribute positively to physical and mental wellbeing. Wellingborough Eco Group member, Karon, is one of the Disability Community Champions. Here she is talking about this and their next Disability Forum:

Karon said: “The Community Champions were set up during the pandemic to support disabled people in the community, a part of this project was to set up a disability forum, because there was no disability forum in North Northamptonshire. The Disability Forum has been set up to share information with disabled people and also the organisations that support them.

“From having the disability forum and our discussions, we decided it would be a good idea to have a booklet for people that have been newly disabled or long-term sick, to give information on resources and services that are available, the type of support people can get, the benefits that people can go for, and anything else related to disability. The next disability Forum is on the 20th January and we encourage you all to come along.”

More than 50 adults came along to their first forum, the online event in July was attended by a mix of service providers, council officers and people with disabilities who raised concerns about how life without restrictions will make them unsafe. They also said that that those with underlying health issues are still the most vulnerable in society and that their views are not being respected.

The next Disability Forum will be on January 20th, their fourth bi-monthly forum. The forums are there for the views of disabled people to be heard, do join in on the Disability Forum in January if you can, more details are available at www.teamworktrust.co.uk/events

About Teamwork Trust

Teamwork Trust is a Northamptonshire charity and social enterprise with over 35 years experience, which works with and supports autistic adults, people with learning disabilities and individuals with mental health needs.

Teamwork is a successful social enterprise that helps vulnerable adults to achieve their goals. They care and are passionate about ensuring that everyone has access to the same chances, choices and opportunities. They embrace and celebrate individual needs and abilities. Service users help to steer and plan everything they do.

Their three centres, based in Corby, Kettering and Wellingborough, are friendly, safe and supportive places in which service users make new friends, access education and employment experiences, and take part in on and off-site activities and classes. They have a packed programme of living and learning projects, and activities, as well as wellbeing and counselling programmes.

They run ‘factory floor’ facilities from their three centres providing a range of assembling, reworking, finishing, labelling, packing and fulfilment services, to offer reliable commercial outsourcing service offers a cost-effective and efficient option for businesses, while giving adults with mental health needs, learning and physical disabilities valuable vocational experience at the same time. The Wellingborough centre is based at:

Teamwork Trust
38A Oxford Street
Wellingborough
Northamptonshire
NN8 4JG

Tel 01933 442066

The Daylight Centre

Today’s Advent Calendar opens a window for The Daylight Centre, an independent local charity that strives to help people in Wellingborough and the surrounding districts of North Northamptonshire in meeting personal challenges that range from complex mental health issues, drug and alcohol abuse, learning difficulties, to homelessness or just feeling fragile, isolated and alone.

The Daylight Centre Fellowship was established in 1994, registered in 2003 and ever since has assisted disadvantaged and vulnerable adults particularly rough sleepers, vulnerably housed, those in poverty and those who are socially isolated. As such, they are at the very forefront of social action within Wellingborough and the surrounding areas. They work in partnership with a range of local organisations and run different events and activities throughout the week.

The Daylight Centre’s activities include The Daylight Café, The Daylight Shop, Wellingborough Foodbank, and coming soon, The Daylight Farm allotment project. We visited them at their Queens Hall base on the High Street, the location of the Centre’s thriving community hub, and we met with Carina Fisher, Chief Executive of the charity, who told us:

“The Daylight Centre is accessible to all and everyone will be welcomed whether they’re in need of some practical support at our TLC service between 10.00am and 11.30am, dropping in for a bite to eat at The Daylight Café between 11.30am and 1pm, or for advice, information or referral at our Support Hub, also between 11.30am and 1pm.“

The TLC Service is a dedicated time for anyone who is street homeless or lacking in facilities to meet their basic needs. There is access to hot showers, clothing, bedding, laundry facilities and food. They also offer a safe care of address, access to computers and telephone. They hold various drop-ins throughout the week so if you let them know what you need, they can co-ordinate with a number of organisations and support with access to these services.

The Daylight Café is a welcoming, multi-use community space that is open to all. It is a place where anyone can come to spend time, socialise and enjoy simple drinks, snacks and light meals in a relaxed atmosphere. The food is entirely prepared on site by their amazing team of volunteers. They also provide free Wi-Fi access and there are computers and telephones should you need them.

The Support Hub is to help people get access to the right support, at the right time, from the right organisation in our local area. The hub can help people who may be experiencing a range of difficulties. You may be homeless or at risk of homelessness, be facing financial challenges, struggling with substance misuse, mental and/or physical health issues. Whatever your difficulty, pop in and speak to them, they are there to help.

Local Councillor and volunteer, Valerie, gives us a guided tour of the Daylight Shop

The Daylight Shop is at 2 Cambridge Street, Wellingborough. They are your local charity shop selling an array of goods, preloved and recycled for your enjoyment. All proceeds from the shop go to keeping the Daylight Centre open or to their foodbank to provide food parcels. The Daylight Shop is open Tuesday to Saturday from 8.30 until 4pm. All donations are gratefully received. Pop in in for a bargain!

Wellingborough Foodbank supports people at their time of greatest need or crisis via several referral partners or supporting organisations such as Citizens Advice, Job Centre Plus, Community Law, schools, Substance to Solution and various housing providers. It provides up to four days supply of food as well as essentials such as household items and toiletries. Open Monday through to Friday, 9am-12pm at Unit 3, Bradfield Road, Finedon Industrial Estate, Wellingborough, NN8 4HB.

NEW – The Daylight Farm allotment project is starting in the new year. Based in Wollaston, it will be run by Daylight volunteers and clients . It will provide a fresh supply of organic fruit and vegetables which can be redistributed throughout the service, including in The Foodbank and Daylight Café. It will also provide clients with a safe outdoors space which can support them to live a healthier, happier, more independent and purposeful lifestyle.

If you are interested in volunteering to support The Daylight Centre Fellowship, contact info@daylightcf.org for more details about their activities and for an application form. You can also find out more information and about urgent items that are needed at the foodbank on their Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/daylightcentre

Community Allotment

Today’s Advent Calendar window opens on the Winter Solstice for our Community Allotment. Why, because on the shortest day we can look forward to longer warmer days, and get out to be doing more gardening! And that is exactly the point of our Community Allotment, to inspire everyone to either join us on our plot and/or start growing food and flowers either for themselves and our community!

Wellingborough Eco Group took on this plot at Ladywell allotments in Wellingborough last year, to give people the chance to share skills and to grow plants. The site was cleared in November 2020 and has, with many hours, many hands, and with a few additions of various buildings, fences and paths, plus tons of soil and compost, been developed into a user-friendly space to grow fruit, vegetables and other plants to benefit the community. Watch our first video back in February to see how we were getting on and our plan:

Our plan was that everyone should be able to use the plot, so hard standing for car parking, and access to a covered area near the entrance was seen as a must. Spaces for two cars have been provided at the front of the plot. A covered 12′ X 8′ ‘gazebo’ has been put up on the right as you enter plot. A fence separating the parking strip from the rest of the plot was also installed.

A hard path was then laid to a woodchip covered area where we have erected two greenhouses and two sheds. Amongst these we installed two raised beds and a speedboat, plus lots of compost bins and water buts. And then of course there’s the weeding, cultivating and planting! With many hands, we managed to fill the Community Allotment with fruit, veg and flowers, and by the summertime the plot was filled with abundance and beauty; here are just a few of the hundreds of photos we shared on the progress, of the people and about rewards of our efforts:

In addition to giving people the opportunity to try allotment gardening, we have lots of learning opportunities with demonstrations on all aspects of growing produce. We share plants and produce with each other at the allotment, at our Swap Shops, and with other community organisations. We also have a seed bank, to share with other allotment holders and for individuals to plant in their gardens; and an allotment library in the gazebo so that everyone to share gardening books and magazines. And we do more than grow fruit and veg…

Trees and Bees

The Community Allotment project also includes our Tree Nursery, which we have had next to the Community Allotment plot for three and a half years. Originally, we planted 28 whips (10 rowan, 9 cherry trees, 9 silver birch) that had been donated by Woodland Trust to Welly Trees and 1 field maple which was much larger, left over from residents planting trees in Third Avenue. Fifteen of these have been donated to other community groups to plant in and around Wellingborough. The others, including several more additions, are now between six and ten foot tall!

Earlier this year we took 50 oaks from Extinction Rebellion Rewilding, and planted 30 of them in a circle on a further plot next to the Tree Nursery, with the other 20 being planted on the Community Allotment. In July, Martine, a Wellingborough Eco Group Member, brought her bees to live with us in our ring of oak trees, amongst the bee friendly flowers we have there. We now have three hives in operation and lots of bees! Here Jonathan is on video again, this time showing us around the Community Allotment and Tree Nursery today:

Last month we extended the Tree Nursery into the space between where the older trees are and where the ring of oaks were planted, for a further 210 trees that we ordered from the Woodland Trust via Glamis Hall. These are to be planted for the Queen’s Green Canopy project, to celebrate her platinum jubilee. This project is a collection of partners including us, Glamis Hall and Castlefields Community Group, that is working with the local councils to plant trees in the town.

We received 105 of the whips and have planted them in this new space to grow them on. These trees are 15 Grey Willow, 15 Wild Cherry, 15 Silver Birch, 15 Pendunculate Oaks and 45 Rowan. The other 105 have just been delivered, which are a further 30 rowan, 15 crab apple, 15 dog rose, 15 blackthorn, 15 hazel and 15 elder, and will be planted in the new year.

Would you like to grow with us?

Anyone can volunteer at the Community Allotment, you don’t have to know anything about gardening and tools will be provided. The project is as much about community as it is allotment, so just join in, make new friends and be part of something that will benefit the town and all of us! We have regular working parties at the allotment, socially distanced of course!

The Working Parties are set up as events on our dedicated Facebook group at facebook.com/groups/communityallotment, and are put on our blog, please let us know if you are coming so that we can meet you at the gates to the allotment. We do hope that you have enjoyed this article and our videos, and that you may now be a little inspired, see you soon!

UGLY MUG

Today, our Advent Calendar window opens for UGLY MUG who have just celebrated their first birthday! They are opposite Tresham College on Church Street, and they are eco-friendly. The proprietor, Jonathan Ekins, has created a coffee shop with that has nice surroundings, a pleasant ambiance and is quiet for meeting friends and family, on the way to work, shopping or just because you fancy a great coffee.

UGLY MUG is very keen to support community groups. If you are involved in a Wellingborough or district community group, they are pleased to offer use of their Coffee shop for promoting your group, you can have a table or use of their basement function area free of charge! Many local groups already meet the café, including a few from the U3A.

Taking advantage of this kind offer are our very own Wellie Wombles, who will be at UGLY MUG tomorrow with ‘Wellie Wombles’ and ‘Wellingborough Eco Group’ mugs and more. Why not pop in and see us between 10 and 2, for a coffee and a chat, plus find out about how to join us tidying up our town.

Wellingborough Eco Group also collects spent coffee grounds from UGLY MUG to use on our Community Allotment to fertilise our plot and to save them going to landfill. Do let them know if you want any. Here Jonathan tells you all about his coffee house and their eco-credentials:

The first thing that you experience as you enter UGLY MUG, is the spellbinding smell of coffee, swiftly followed by the feeling that you are in a European café. Even the price board looks continental. Seating is available on three levels and is designed with people from all walks of life in mind, be it work spaces, chill out seating or lunch with your loved ones.

They pride themselves that they only serve the finest locally roasted coffee, and that means no instant, no express and no pods. It’s not only coffee that has been sourced from a local supplier, they also have a local baker who bakes all of their bread and cakes. The coffee shop uses reusable plates and mugs, and offers bamboo reusable takeaway cups and recycled packaging too.

They have a wide selection of freshly prepared sandwiches available, including vegan and vegetarian options. Vegan coffee is served too, including a fantastic oat milk latte, soya and almond milks are also available, so whoever you are, they have you covered. Open Monday to Friday: 8:00 – 5:00, Saturday: 08:00 – 4:00 and Sunday: 10:00 – 3:00, they hope to serve you soon.

Morrisons Wellingborough Community Champion

Today’s Advent Calendar Window opens for Morrisons Wellingborough store; who have made a huge difference this year, through the tireless work of their Community Champion Skye. She has supported and, perhaps more importantly, joined in with the work of lots of the groups and charities to make good things happen locally. Skye has been the most visible and supportive person from any business in our community this year, and for this we wanted to thank her and Morrisons with this feature.

Skye’s role is to support the local community and represent corporate living from Morrisons. During her time there she has helped at and supported Redeem Funds Food Bank, Helping Hands, Animals in Need, litter picks with the Wellie Wombles, Baby Basics, Teen Challenge, Thrapston Foodbank, Teamwork Trust, breakfast clubs from various schools and nurseries, and more. We visited Skye, who told us on video all about her work:

Morrisons Wellingborough store has been one of the biggest supporters of Redeem Funds this year, through regular donations to their foodbank and more. Their Community Champion, Skye, has also regularly supported Redeem Funds at various local events, at their foodbank and with making food parcels which are then distributed to families in Wellingborough District.

Morrisons have also supported Wellingborough Eco Group and Wellie Wombles too, with donations of canteen tables and chairs for our Community Allotment, and with four crates of drinks for Wellie Wombles at our Tuesday Tidy Ups. Skye has even joined in a few times litter picking and at the Community Allotment too!

Skye, Morrisons Wellingborough Community Champion, active in our community

Christmas is the supermarket’s busiest time of the year, but it hasn’t stopped them supporting the community. This Christmas Morrisons Wellingborough have a Toy Appeal for Northampton General Hospital where staff, customers or anyone can donate toys. These will go to children who are in hospital over the Christmas period.

Morrisons Wellingborough donated the mince pies for the Christmas Tree Festival at the High Street United Reformed Church last weekend. Skye has also been delivering mince pies on Mondays to care homes around Wellingborough, delivering hampers for families in need and has adopted a family this Christmas to give them their Christmas dinner and presents on Christmas Eve!

Well done and thank you Skye and Morrison Wellingborough, find out more at https://www.facebook.com/WellingboroughChamp/