Winter has arrived! Our mornings often feature decent frosts.
In response the MenShed team operating from the Wanaka Community Workshop every Tuesday and Thursday morning have moved inside. Hot drinks are pretty popular as well.
Great to see the team remain active. We have a solid order book from schools in particular and are keen to continue our contribution to our community despite temperature.
Over recent weeks the MenShed team at the Wanaka Community Workshop have completed a range of projects for our high school – Mount Aspiring College.
These projects have ranged from props for drama productions, staging for music and drama events, second hand uniform holder as well as a range of storage box’s.
We are now working on shelving to hold student bags.
Some units will be located outdoors, some indoors.
Each shelving unit is being built from recycled materials. This has posed some issues for the team given twisted plywood but the team are dealing with it.
The Tool Library located at the Wanaka Community Workshop is nearing completion.
The building has been built. The tools have been acquired.
We are now working on marking the tools so that those which belong to the library are easily identified.
Look out for the new Tool Library. Details as to how tools can be borrowed, by whom and for how long will shortly be announced.
Great to see Simon back at the Wanaka Community Workshop.
Simon first visited as part of a MINT program but is now working on a project of his own.
Great job Simon.
The MenShed team at the Wanaka Community Workshop are progressing a few projects for the Makarora Primary School.
The projects include a mud / play kitchen, outdoor woodworking / play table and a outdoor storage box for play equipment.
Later this month we expect to deliver the items.
The Workshop is part of our community here in the Upper Clutha. Makarora is part of this community and we are delighted to work on projects for our neighbours.
This week the MenShed team delivered to the Hawea Flat Primary School three mobile cabinets.
Built from recycled materials each cabinet is designed to store a class set of large format reading books.
We love working with schools across the Upper Clutha. If the school you are associated with would benefit from projects from storage and shelving, cycle racks, staging and props for school drama productions – indeed anything, get in contact. The team maybe able to help. We would love to hear from you.
The MenShed team at the Wanaka Community Workshop have a challenge.
A beautiful and finely crafted wooden model of a steam tug is seeking some protection. We are creating for it a display case – something we have not done before.
Fortunately we have recently been joined by Lorette, a lady visiting from France who is skilled in woodworking and cabinet making.
The project has just started and will take a few weeks. We are using recycled materials but the result will complement the outstanding workmanship of the tug boat.
Every so often the MenShed team gets an opportunity to display their design and artistic side.
We regularly collect plywood cut offs from Wanaka manufacturers which would otherwise go to waste.
Usually we cut such wood into regular shapes – rectangles! This time taking advantage of their curved shape and some cleaver thinking the team was able to create a bespoke design.
Looks good and helps secure a space.
Great project.
Many across our community are working to make a difference for our natural environment.
The focus of Wai Wanaka are our natural waters – our lakes, rivers, streams and wetlands. We are now aware that plastics, in particular micro plastics, are find their way into these waters.
A small way we can help is reducing the use of throwaway plastics, in particular the single use coffee cup.
In response Wai Wanaka have available ceramic and metal cups that can be used over and over together with stands and box’s to display and store then in. They are available for use at the many events held in Wanaka and across the Upper Clutha.
The MenShed team have helped in this work. Some months ago we designed and built the stands and this week we built some wooden storage box’s for the cups.
Not a huge job, but it makes a difference.
At times all one needs to get the job done is a little help.
In this case some timber cut to length to support a small deck.
The MenShed team were pleased to help. A little job but one which makes life a little easier.
Every Monday morning Wanaka Community Workshop has a supervisor present ready to support members with their projects.
The role of the Supervisor is to open the workshop, check that members are trained in the safe use of machines and provide advice where appropriate. Over recent weeks a growing number of members are taking advantage and getting their stuff done.
With more people willing to volunteer as supervisors additional times for members to access and use the workshop will become available.
Wood is at the centre of most projects undertaken at the Workshop. However we do have the ability to undertake light engineering.
Over recent days a small stove is being upgraded.
The intention is to create a small stove that burns better and cleaner. The outcome will be warmth during our up-coming winter plus the opportunity for cooking.
The workshop has a range of equipment and tools. Not all are used regularly. We rely on members and volunteers to apply their passion, skills and expertise for our tools and equipment to be fully utilised.
The MenShed team at the Wanaka Community Workshop were delighted this week to receive an extensive donation of materials and tools.
We greatly appreciate the support of businesses and households that such donations represent.
The materials will be used across a range of community projects. We use the tools and containers within the workshop. We also donate suitable equipment to schools and pre-schools. Some ends up in our growing collection of classic gear – some call it a museum!
In any event, its great to receive it. We shall put it to good use.
Great to see the crowds flocking to Wheels at Wanaka – an iconic event for our town and region.
The MenShed team at the Wanaka Community Workshop were delighted to support, in a small way, Wheels at Wanaka.
Over recent weeks the team completed seating which was used within the bus stops located around the event site.
The team also built a number of re-usable cup holders used by many of the cafe tents in order to reduce waste associated with single use coffee cups.
We also created a number of picnic tables which were dotted about the event site in order to provide respite for visitors.
Finally some members of the MenShed team volunteered at the event and in the period leading up to the event. Great to Gerald in particular practice his skills piloting an ancient tractor about the stadium circuit!
Members of the MenShed team at the Wanaka Community Workshop often cycle to our volunteer sessions.
We have thought a cycle rack was something we could provide to encourage our volunteers to cycle.
This week we put thinking into action. We gathered up donated timber, downloaded a photograph for guidance and fabricated a descent rack for 4-6 cycles.
Its now in service. Great stuff.
This week the MenShed team at the Wanaka Community Workshop were joined by a couple of students from our local High School.
They were engaged in a school project focused upon how pests can been managed or eliminated from our natural environment.
At the Workshop we showed whats involved in building a DOC trap that targets stoats.
We then got them busy building a rat trap which they took home. Great job.
Winter is coming. In response the team at the Wanaka Community Workshop have created 100 textile “sausages” to stop drafts of cold air sneaking in under the door.
The sausages will be gifted to Community Link where staff & volunteers operate the Wanaka Foodbank. The sausages along with kindling provided by the Workshop will be given to families across the Upper Clutha to help them keep warm during the months ahead.
We have had a run of repairs for toy prams and push chairs of late.
This push chair is back in service following some work to repair and strengthen its metal structure.
Not a big job but an important one for its owner who has a few dolls waiting for a ride.
Our Upper Clutha community enjoys a host of events and festivals each year. The Festival of Colour is an iconic event in our calendar.
This year the MenShed team at the Wanaka Community Workshop responded to a call from Wanaka Primary to prepare some simple shapes from wood that the kids could enliven with colour under the guidance of local artist Chrissi Wikes.
We were keen and soon had 80-100 examples completed.
This week we spotted our contribution displayed in the trees along the lakeshore.
They look great.
Every so often the MenShed team at the Wanaka Community Workshop gets the chance to create something out of the ordinary.
This time around its the rig for a sailing ship.
It won’t be powering a vessel around the globe. Rather it will be acting as a prop for an upcoming play being produced by the teachers and kids at Mt Aspiring College.
We love the opportunity.
The redevelopment of an iconic child’s play pram is done!
The project took the combined skills from the MenShed team with welding the fractured structure and painting while the Fabricate team created the soft furnishings.
The outcome looks great and works well – another half century of play and enjoyment is ahead.
A few weeks back the MenShed team at the Wanaka Community Workshop completed three Lilliput Libraries. Each was then decorated by kids at a painting class.
Last week the Lilliput Libraries were back at the Workshop where stands were designed and built for each library.
With these stands each library is now ready for placement.
This week the MenShed team visited Mt Aspiring College.
We took with us two mobile stands designed to hold school uniforms which the team has recently completed.
The Upper Clutha is fortunate to have such a great school at the center of our community.
The MenShed team were delighted to be able to contribute to MAC. The stands will store second hand uniforms that will be made available to students.
This week Fabricate was part of the team supporting Wanaka Wastebusters and their Refashion event.
Refashion is all about re-using and upcycling clothing rather than simply buying more. Given the huge adverse impact on the earths natural environment arising from the production and disposal of clothing, Re fashion has an important objctive.
The team spent time at Fabricate creating a new look from Denim items donated to Wastebusters.
Good fun and a great look!
The Wanaka A&P Show is an iconic event for our community.
The MenShed team at the Wanaka Community Workshop made a few contributions to the 2025 show. They included various signage boards placed about the venue to guide and inform visitors.
However we were most proud to see the sandpit in action in the Plunket kids zone.
The sandpit is a flat pack design – easily able to be assembled but taken down for storage between events.
Not bad for just a photograph for guidance.
The MenShed team at the Wanaka Workshop are humbled by the donations we regularly receive.
Most donations are of materials such as wood & plywood, screws & nails. We really appreciate these as they are the basis of many of our projects we create for schools, community and environmental groups across the Upper Clutha.
However from time to time we receive donations of tools and equipment. Some from folk working in the construction sector, some from households clearing out their garage or shed. We appreciate it all.
Most of the tools and equipment become part of the Workshop. Some, especially small hammers and nails, ends up with schools along with a woodworking table we put together. Some we sell to generate funds to for the upkeep of the Workshop and its equipment.
This week the MenShed team at the workshop completed a couple of mobile stands for Mt Aspiring College.
Built from recycled materials the stands shall be used to store pre-used uniforms which the school sells.
The team used their skills to design the stands only using a couple of photographs as a guide. They look great and should serve the College for years.
The MenShed team craft a range of items – some large, some small.
This week we have been working on a number of wooden trays. They come in various sizes depending on their use. They test our skills.
Created from recycled materials the trays are intended for use by schools and households.
Every so often the team escape from the Workshop and go walk about.
This time we visited the region around Roxburgh. Shingle Creek Collectables opened for us and a number of us left with new treasures. Next was coffee and cake at The Store is downtown Roxburgh.
It is a real shame the town and its community lost their town hall and cinema in a recent fire.
We next visited the great people at the historic Millers Flat Bakery.
What a fantastic job they have done bringing back from near ruin one of New Zealand’s oldest bakery. The team are now continuing their work collecting stories and collating the history of this small kiwi country community.
We then took ourselves past the new gold mine and relics of the railway which once served the area to visit iconic Jimmy’s Pies.
Jimmy’s Pies are part of the bed rock of Central Otago and quite a few accompanied us home.
Its great to get out and about. Good for the soul.
Recently the MenShed team welcomed the donation of a pallet of wooden offcuts from a local fencing project.
After some thinking about how best to upcycle the offcuts the team are now busy crafting a range of outdoor planter box’s. A few will be used to enhance the front yard of the Wanaka Community Workshop but the remainder we are aiming to sell. If you are in the market for such an item, get in touch.
This week the MenShed team delivered a beach toy library to Scotts Beach, Lake Hawea.
This is our third toy library – the other two are at Roys Bay and Bremner Bay of Lake Wanaka. They have proved popular with kids. Mum’s and Dad’s have added to the toy collection over time.
Our newest toy library at Lake Hawea has been salted with a few toys and we trust locals will add to the collection over coming weeks.
Each of the Beach Toy Libraries have been built from recycled materials donated to the Workshop by local manufacturers and builders.
Its a great project and we love to see the kids enjoying their time at the beach.
Fabricate, the textile shop at the Wanaka Community Workshop, has extensive holdings of fabric. Much has been gifted by local residents but our ability to store and use the material is limited.
In response this week the Fabricate team held a sale – a first for the Workshop.
The sale had three great outcomes.
Material was recycled into households for their use.
Space was created at the Workshop for the storage of more material for future use or recycling.
Funds raised will enable the Workshop to keep going.
Great outcomes all round.
The MenShed team met at the Wanaka Community Workshop on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. The regular crew love to welcome new members – our skills vary but we all learn together.
Over recent weeks Henry has joined us – he is currently repairing the seat that serves the Albertown bus stop. The seat was originally built at the Workshop from upcycled wooden pallets and used in trials for a public bus service that took place in 2023 and 2024. Today its used by students picking up the school bus.
While Henry is busy so is the rest of the team.
The MenShed team have been busy this week crafting Herb Raising Trays for Grow Wanaka.
Built from non treated timber recycled from our local construction sector the Trays shall form an element of the WAO Harvest Festival. The Festival is being held in mid March at the community hall in Luggate.
The Festival is a great opportunity for people across the Upper Clutha to make the most of local produce.
The Wanaka Community Workshop is proud to work alongside Grow Wanaka and the WAO Harvest Festival benefiting people across the Upper Clutha.
De-stash our Cache
SATURDAY 15th FEBRUARY
12.00 – 2.00
15 GORDON ROAD
We need more room! Find fabric for your next project. Donated fabrics – all new – mostly shorter lengths @ $3 /m or fill a shopping bag for $10. Plus patterns, zips, buttons and more.
The team at the Wanaka Community Workshop love working with our community partners.
Recently the team supported the Friends of Bullock Creek when they celebrated World Wetland Day. Bullock Creek is a great example how people with passion and skill can make a difference. Not only is it a great place to visit the natural environment is increasingly pristine.
Our role was to display a range of pest traps made at the Workshop.
Recently the team joined with Wanaka Backyard Trapping and the Mt Outdoors store in Three Parks in a public education program concerning pest trapping. Again the team from the Workshop provided a range of traps.
Working with partners is key to making a difference and reducing the impact of pests such as stoats and rats on our natural environment. With the people and agencies such as Friends of Bullock Creek and Wanaka Backyard Trapping leading the way we are making inroads.
This week the MenShed team at the Wanaka Community Workshop have been busy upcycling construction waste into a range of cycle racks.
Each rack is customised to hold cycle wheels and tires of different widths.
While some racks are already in service within homes across the Upper Clutha, we have others in store that may meet your needs.
Volunteers with the MenShed team often do not just volunteer with the Wanaka Community Workshop. They volunteer for a range of other groups.
Knowing there was a need as the harvest season approaches, this week the team completed a garlic drying rack for Grow Wanaka.
Its great to work with other groups to the benefit of the wider community across the Upper Clutha.
This week the MenShed Team at the Wanaka Community Workshop are working on a new project – ukelele stands for the Hawea Flat Primary School.
All kids love music and we really appreciate the opportunity to create stands for a full class set of instruments. With a photograph and a ukelele as a guide the stands are coming together nicely.
We love crafting something new and creating something that benefits the kids in our community.
The Wanaka Community Workshop survives only because of the support and generosity of the community across the Upper Clutha.
Thanks to Bramwell Scaffolding the Workshop recently received timbers previously used in our local construction sector.
The MenShed team at the Wanaka Community Workshop have been upcycling the timber to craft a range of outdoor tables.
The tables come in two designs. The Picnic Tables comes with built in seating while the Viking Tables come with two separate seating benches.
You can find the tables at bike parks, backyards and outside food vans across the Upper Clutha.
The team at the Wanaka Community Workshop very much appreciate the support of local firms such as Bramwell Scaffolding. Together we can make a difference in our wider community.
With the application of some TLC (tender loving care) the team at the Wanaka Community Workshop will soon have a classic toy pram back in service.
The project has involved some light engineering as well as just the right textiles.
A new generation will soon enjoy experience the joy just as their grandmother did.
Last year the MenShed team at the Wanaka Community Workshop placed a couple of beach toy libraries on the shore line of Lake Wanaka. They have proved popular with younger kids who access toys to play in the sand.
Over time the library’s receive new toys which are deposited by parents. They toys also get a hard time and every so often MenShed team members visit and complete a tidy up.
Recently a broken plastic chair was removed but the decision was to replace it with robust wooden version build from recycled materials.
The chair is now complete and doing sterling service on the lake shore.
Great story.
Many families are fortunate to care for items passed down from their forebears.
Every now and then the MenShed team at the Wanaka Community Workshop have the opportunity to repair a loved item that has suffered some damage.
The work is always unusual and tests our skills. We enjoy it.
It’s great to be able to return such an item for use over future years.
The Albie Tavern has been part of the Upper Clutha community for years.
Recently the Albie approached the MenShed team at the Wanaka Community Workshop to solve a small problem – could we supply a solution that would enable pool tables to be used for other purposes?
In response we designed wooden covers for the tables using recycled materials – both wood and textile backing to protect the table surface. Working with the Fabricate team the covers were built and supplied.
Its great to work with an institution with such a long history in our community.
Toward the end of 2024 the MenShed team at the Wanaka Community Workshop assembled a large new BBQ for Community Link. The BBQ itself had been donated by our local Wanaka Mitre 10.
Community Link use the BBQ to provide free meals each Wednesday from the Community Hub in McDougall Street.
Actually the team went further and built a mobile stand to make moving the BBQ easier.
As seen in the image, members of the MenShed team went further again and operate the BBQ – producing the best snags this side of the Clutha.
Great to see Mitre 10, Community Link, Community Hub and the Wanaka Community Workshop working together for the benefit of all across the Upper Clutha.
Over recent weeks the MenShed team at the Wanaka Community Workshop have been completing a series of ramps.
The ramps are designed to make access to the equipment at Wanaka Gymsports easier.
We love working on projects which make life a little better for people across the Upper Clutha.
With Christmas almost upon us the team got together recently for a shared meal.
Wellbeing is important to each of us.
Wellbeing is a key rationale for the Wanaka Community Workshop. The opportunity to meet, talk and work shoulder to shoulder getting stuff done lies behine all that we do at the Workshop.
Getting folk together over a cuppa and biscuit is great. Getting together over a hot meal followed by pavlova is even better.
We at the Wanaka Community Workshop wish each of you a great time across the festive season.
Wowa, the play house is done!
Over recent weeks the MenShed team at the Wanaka Community Workshop have been busy creating a play house for the kids who attend the Hawea Flat Play Group.
It’s perhaps the largest, certainly the heaviest, project we have done thus far.
Built from recycled and donated materials the play house is part of a package which includes a play stove and bench which will fit within.
During construction we also learnt a bit – especially around how best to fit the roof and flashings. No one likes a leaky building!
The big test will come soon – when the kids get a chance to use it.
Thanks to the kids attending art sessions led by Chrissy Wickes we now have three brilliant lilliput libraries.
Built by the MenShed team at the Wanaka Community Workshop the three libraries were a little drab. Built from recycled materials they their presentation was pretty ordinary.
However with the application of imagination and color they now look anything but ordinary. They look brilliant!
Each library will soon be off to serve local communities across the Upper Clutha.
Something to brighten all our lives even if just a little.
