Author: Ian Maxwell

Every library reviews its holdings to make way for new books. The Queenstown & Lakes Council’s library at Wanaka is no exception. This week Paula from the Wanaka Library delivered to the Wanaka Community Workshop a selection of books eliminated from their collection of great interest to the MenShed team. Each contains ideas of how… Continue reading Ideas from our library

The MenShed team has started the new year with a new project. Riddling is a technique associated with our wine industry – in particular with the méthode Champenoise or traditional method of making Champagne. Riddling is a process of periodically rotating a bottle a quarter of a turn while simultaneously tilting it until it’s upside down.… Continue reading Riddling

We heard the outdoor play tables at the Kidsfirst kindergarten Hawea needed some love and attention. Stu, one of our MenShed team who lives locally, picked the tables up and delivered them to the Wanaka Community Workshop. Using donated materials it was a quick task to create and attached new tops on each of the… Continue reading Tables back in play

Folk at the Wanaka Community Workshop took time out this week to get together in the spirit of Christmas. Its great to get together with some great kai. Time also to talk through what we have working together accomplished this year. While a number of the team will be away over the next few weeks,… Continue reading Christmas together

Traps are regularly manufactured by the MenShed team operating from the Wanaka Community Workshop. This is not surprising given the importance of maintaining and enhancing the habitats across the natural environment of the Upper Clutha. We build and supply traps that meet the demanding requirements Department of Conservation which target stoats and other pests. We… Continue reading More traps on the way

We receive some odd requests at the Wanaka Community Workshop. This week the MenShed team crafted a foot – a stencil of the outline of a foot to be precise. The stencil is to be used to mark a track on the ground running through a busy community market place leading to a particular stall.… Continue reading Painted toes

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… Continue reading Thanks for the support

Over recent weeks our community across the Upper Clutha have enjoyed a new service – a community shuttle bus service serving Lake Hawea, Hawea Flat, Albertown and Wanaka. The shuttle bus service is a great initiative led by Community Network Wanaka / Link Upper Clutha. The service is currently a trial – a trial to… Continue reading Bus stop bench seats

Every so often the MenShed team at the Wanaka Community Workshop get handed a challenge. This week the challenge came in the form of a stool – a stool passed down by a family’s grandmother and looking for some damage repair. A foot was broken, chipped with peices missing. A furniture maker and wood craftsman… Continue reading Back in service

This month Wastebusters held their Sustainable Christmas Market at their Wanaka facility. The team from the Wanaka Community Workshop created a stall – our first for any market. We had for sale a range products created from upcycled textiles and construction materials. Corn Hole Game Boards & throw bags, salad servers & cloth, large and… Continue reading Sustainable Christmas Market

The Wanaka Community Workshop hosts MINT each month. MINT supports those in Upper Clutha Area with intellectual disabilities. This month the MINT team started on their largest project at the Workshop – two Corn Hole Game Boards and eight cloth bags with which to play. The Boards are being built with the support of the… Continue reading Corn Hole Game for MINT

The Wanaka Community Workshop welcomes donations of wood and construction materials. The MenShed Team use the material to create products which support the local community. Some of this material is large. Some is small – just off-cuts. This week the team have been focusing re-using the off-cuts. We have been building a range of wooden… Continue reading Spoons and Boxes

MINT is an organisation which works with members of our community who have intellectual difficulties. Every month the MenShed team operating from the Wanaka Community Workshop hosts a visit from MINT. The visit is part of a comprehensive program developed by MINT. For each visit the MenShed team fabricate a project for our visitors to… Continue reading Planters and tool box’s

This week the Wanaka Community Workshop hosted the Wanaka Repair Event. The Repair Event was organised and delivered by Wanaka Wastebusters. The Wanaka Repair Event was one of four similar events that Wanaka Wastebusters have organised across the district. The Event bought together volunteers who repaired clothing, electrical and electronic goods, bicycles and furniture. Local… Continue reading Repair Revolution

This week the MenShed team hosted a film crew. The crew were at the Wanaka Community Workshop preparing a video for BREEN Construction. With their head office in Alexandra BREEN Construction has been a leader of the construction industry across the Upper Clutha since 1939. Part of that leadership focuses upon minimising construction waste. The… Continue reading Working to reduce waste

This week Gerald and Jim Bob completed one of the largest projects undertaken by the MenShed team. Six Dog Boxes. The Dog Box’s will house dogs that are deployed to manage a range of animal pests across our region. Each has been built from materials that would have otherwise gone to waste. Great stuff Gerald… Continue reading In the dog box

This week Wanaka has hosted the WAO Summit as part of the 2022 Festival for Sustaintability. The Wanaka Community Workshop was an active participant in the Festival. The Workshop hosted a cycle maintenance event early in October. During the Summit the Workshop hosted a session focussed upon reducing waste resulting from construction. Members of the… Continue reading WAO Summit

Every so often folk drop into the Wanaka Community Workshop seeking that something be repaired. Recently the team from the MenShed completed a stand for a peice of garden art. It was an important peice, designed and built by their late Dad. It’s great having the opportunity to make a difference.

A three month trial of a community bus service linking Wanaka, Albert Town Hawea Flat and Lake Hawea is underway. The trial has been developed by Community Networks / LINK. This week the Team at the MenShed operating from the Wanaka Community Workshop received a call for help. Could we construct a light but strong… Continue reading A step up for the bus trial

During this month the Wanaka Community Workshop hosted a couple of training sessions. Each session attracted people in search of advice on how best to maintain their bikes. The sessions were part of a much larger Biketober program of events which run right through the month of October. Biketober is managed and deployed by WAO… Continue reading Biketober

Pact is a Otago based agency supporting people to lead fulfilling lives in the community. In our district Pact supports over 300 adults and youth with intellectual disabilities, mental health issues and young people referred from Oranga Tamariki. Recently the MenShed team hosted our first visit from Pact that included support people along with those… Continue reading A visit from Pact

fabricate is up and running at the Wanaka Community Workshop. fabricate is all about textiles and sewing. Program’s to teach sewing and pattern making skills has commenced. More are planned. Members of our community are are dropping in to undertake their own work and repairs. Its great to see people learning new skills – taking… Continue reading fabricate is on a roll

The Wanaka Community Workshop provides a range of opportunities for our local community. This includes travelers who pass through our town and region. Recent projects undertaken by the MenShed team have benefited from the time and skills of visitors from France. As members of the Workshop during their period in Wanaka our visitors took the… Continue reading A helping hand

Over the last month the MenShed completed a few projects for the Montessori Childrens House in Wanaka. The projects included a table for kids to practice their wood working skills, a cupboard in which to store their wood working tools and finally, a table upon which they can grow plants and seedlings. This week Montessori… Continue reading Thanks

Recently the team at the MenShed completed a work table for the kids at Montessori Childrens House – a pre school in Wanaka. This week a small cupboard was delivered by the team. Mounted on wheels for easy moving about, the cupboard will store the tools the kids can use on the work table. Its… Continue reading Kids nail it

With school holidays the MenShed team at the Wanaka Community Workshop this week hosted a holiday program organised by Kahu Youth. We loved having them. Everyone took away a simple planter box they built from recycled materials. A few lessons were learnt and many took home a little paint – on their clothes.

Grow Wanaka has created vibrant educational hub at their community garden where folk can learn, connect and grow The community garden is located on Outlet Road, Wanaka – just above the Clutha River. Community Networks food security project operating from the Wanaka Community Hub have led the development of food banks and food exchanges across… Continue reading Grow Wanaka collaboration

Over recent weeks the team at the MenShed has designed and built two tables for the MINT Trust. The tables can be adjusted – the tops can be raised or lowered. The tops can also be set at an angle making them suitable for drawing or painting. Construction of the tables has involved fine wood… Continue reading New desks for MINT

Skinks and geckos are lizards – the only two native families of lizard found in New Zealand. Our skink and gecko species have been around a long time – at least 20 million years. They occur only in New Zealand. Some species are restricted to habitats found only in Otago. As these habitats change, our skinks and gecko’s… Continue reading A safe spot for skinks

Wanaka is a great community. This week members of our community invested their support for the Wanaka Community Workshop by donating machinery. In turn the machinery will be used by the Workshop to support the Wanaka community Our scroll saw has seen great service with its previous owner. Over the last decade over 4000 wooden… Continue reading Saws join the workshop

The MenShed team operating from the Wanaka Community Workshop love making things. That said the team also enjoy each other company. Mostly this takes place over a cup of tea of coffee at the Workshop. From time to time we also get out. This month we had a picnic with the Friends of Bullock Creek.… Continue reading Time for a break

The Upper Clutha is home to an amazing array of insects. Many are unique reflecting our dry and alpine environments. Iconic among New Zealand insects is the Weta. Species of Weta are found among our highest alpine peaks down to forests along the shores of our lakes. Recently the team at the MenShed have been… Continue reading Homes for weta

This month Di dropped in to give the team at the MenShed a hand. She joined JimBob in creating a small table – a table for kids to try out their woodworking skills. A table upon which a hammer may be used, a saw or a screwdriver. Thanks to JimBob, the design of the table… Continue reading A table for kids to hammer

Its great to experience what the Friends of Bullock Creek have established over the years. The restoration of the natural environment and the development of of walkways and informative signage is a joy. The Friends are more than this however. The Friends act as guardians to ensure the natural waters of Bullock Creek and our… Continue reading Bullock Creek extends its boardwalk

Wanaka Backyard Trapping is a community organisation all about giving the local native wildlife a hand. They do this by enabling residents across the Upper Clutha to trap predators in their backyards. Wanaka Backyard Trapping manages a trap library. People can borrow for free traps from the library to target rats, stoats and other predators… Continue reading Trap library making a difference

The Winter snows abound on the hills and mountains above Wanaka. Its great to see large numbers of visitors back in town. It’s not only visitors who ski but locals as well. This includes supporters of the Wanaka Community Workshop. While we are known for working with wood and soon textiles, we do have other… Continue reading Waxing the Boards