After we used up all the larger size timber in our stack for the Bike Wanaka – Lismore Park Picnic Table we decided more Picnic Tables were in our future. But what to make them from?
A quick email blast out to Wānaka scaffolding companies and we had an immediate response from Bramwell Scaffolding who went through there scaffold plank stack and took out the ones not up to code. Freaking awesome!
We now have a stack of planks that we will be turning into tables, and also using to make a Training Doorway for the local Fire Department (see image below). Recycling waste into useful things for the community. It’s what we do.
Every two years our community hosts Wheels at Wānaka, the largest event of its type in the Southern Hemisphere. Its a great event that attracts people from across New Zealand.
This year the Wanaka Community Workshop was a charity that benefitted from the success of the event.
Thanks to the organisers, participants and attendees the Wanaka Community Workshop received $5000 from the 2023 Wheels at Wanaka.
We shall put the donation toward the cost of upgrading the dust extraction system within the Workshop.
The system will improve the health and safety for our volunteers and members. It will also enable us to run machines longer allowing more community projects to be undertaken.
We are proud to be part of the strong and supportive community which Wanaka and the Upper Clutha is.
Furthermore Wheels at Wanaka 2023 was a great event which a number of our members supported as volunteers. Looking forward to the next one!
Sudden cardiac arrest is one of the leading causes of death in New Zealand. It can happen to anyone – anywhere.
In an emergency easy and quick access to a defibrillator can make the difference between life and death. Its scary but the chance of survival decreases by 10 percent for each minute that passes without defibrillation.
Thanks to the Go West Trust a lightweight, portable defibrillator is now placed on the external wall of the Wanaka Community Workshop.
It’s available 24-7.
The device is smart too.
In use the device analyses the heart’s rhythm and if necessary, delivers an electric shock in order to help restore the heart’s natural rhythm.
It comes with visual and voice prompts enabling people with little or no training to use the device.
Great for a time when stress levels are high.
Thanks to the Graham and Olive West Trust, those who work and visit the neighborhood in and around Gordon Street now have access to a life saving service.
Wanaka is a great community – a strong and supportive community.
The MenShed team experiences evidence of the strength of the Wanaka community each week.
We welcome donations of construction materials, hardware, and tools – all of which we use to support the Workshop’s own contribution to the local community.
This week was no exception – we received tools and an array of hardware. They were put to immediate use in completing raised gardens for use by kids at one of our local pre-schools.
The Wanaka Community Workshop exists to make a difference – a difference for our community, for our natural environment.
We very much appreciate it when our efforts are recognised.
We especially appreciate it when this appreciation is in the form of donations that support our efforts.
Lynn River, the premier supplier of New Zealand workplace safety needs have made a difference for us.
Lynn River have donated a comprehensive range of safety equipment for those who work at the Wanaka Community Workshop – our volunteers and supporters.
Safety glasses and shields, gloves, dust masks and hearing protection – for both adults and kids – will help ensure our workplace is safe. We want our volunteers and supporters to go home safe and sound following their time working with us.
Lynn River helping make our workplaces safe both nation wide and at the Wanaka Community Workshop.
Wanaka Community Workshop is delighted to announce that ITM Southern Lakes has come onboard as the Gold Sponsor for the Trust. Photo of Hemi Karamaena Representing ITM and Allan Harvey of the WCW MenShed.
A not for profit charitable trust, Wanaka Community Workshop (WCW) operations is heavily reliant on volunteer time, contestable funding and community goodwill to meet its operating budget and outgoing expenses, while balancing the need to deliver the trust’s purposes, which are to build community resilience by enabling community connection; creating social situations where people can develop new skills; and reducing waste in the construction sector.
“Grants pay for things like tools, but sponsorship in the form of cash is a massive boost. Thanks to ITM’s support, Wanaka Community Workshop will be able to scale up its operations by turning some volunteer roles into paid roles, which will enable us to increase our capacity and assist more people in the community,” says WCW co-founder and trustee Ben Acland.
“ITM have been supporting us with a trade account, special rates and deals on tools and timber since we started, and by giving us wood that could not be sold but was still suitable for the WCW’s trap making projects. It’s a long-standing partnership which has made it possible for WCW to operate,” says Ben.
ITM and WCW are looking forward to working together to reduce build and construction waste.
WCW, now in its second year, is going from strength to strength. With a growing membership base, a strong local MenShed group, and a workshop product offering, the WCW has good community engagement and is collaborating with many environmental trusts in the Upper Clutha region.
