Category: Uncategorized

Debbie at Wānaka Primary School contacted us regarding building a Food Stand for their Environment Group. Barrie and the team recycled a bunch of pallets into the main body and we made our first attempt at a standard way of reusing bike wheels, something I’ve wanted to do for ages. Living in a big mountain…

July was a great month for the MenShed team at the Wanaka Community Workshop. Team members hosted 24 kids undertaking a holiday program with the Wanaka Recreation Centre. Each went home with a small wooden crate. We also hosted 9 folk from MINT who each went home with a bird feeder. During July the team…

The Upper Clutha community is a community that reads. The evidence is that the Wanaka Community Workshop is full of Lilliput Libraries. The libraries each containing a small book exchange are popping up all over the town. Four new libraries at the Workshop will be managed by the Friends of Wanaka Library. A fifth is…

This week the team at the MenShed completed their first Beach Toy Library. It is a simple idea. An idea borrowed from an example spotted in Tauranga. The Library contains wooden toys, buckets and spades which kids can access when playing on the lake shore. With toys going back into the library they are available…

Death Cafe Wanaka is group that embraces and honours the intricacies, ambiguities and mysteries surrounding how one may seek meaning within the context of death and dying. This week the MenShed team have been working with members of the Death Cafe to finalise how they can access the Wanaka Community Workshop and construct coffins for themselves…

Wanaka has had its fair share of inversions of late – a layer of cloud trapped below slightly warmer air above. The grey cloud layer above the town lets little sun through. As a result those of us on the ground feel the cold. Despite the temperature the MenShed team at the Wanaka Community Workshop…

The MenShed team meet at the Wanaka Community Workshop every Tuesday and Thursday from 9am to midday. At this time we get stuff done. We also gather for social occasions – where little is done. More a time for friends to gather to enjoy some great tucker and share a few stories. Our most recent…

MINT is a community agency who works towards forging great lives for those with intellectual disabilities in the Upper Clutha Region. As part of their regular program MINT regularly attends the Wanaka Community Workshop. At the Workshop the team from MINT work with wood or fabric. This week’s visit was a bit special. The visit…

This week Wanaka hosted the New Zealand Mountain Film & Book Festival. It is a great event that showcases the natural environment and the people who challenge themselves within it.  Part of the Festival includes workshops for budding camera people to improve their craft. The Wanaka Community Workshop were used by participants as an opportunity…

The Team at the Workshop this week completed the latest in a growing network of food banks serving communities across Upper Clutha. The Network has been established by Community Networks our one stop shop for community services operating by the Community Hub. Food banks can be found at the Community Hub as well as the…

Lets face it, from time to time kid’s can be messy. The MenShed team can help with this. This week we shipped four large wooden box’s. Each is mobile with a set of wheels. The box’s can store stuff. Stuff left about on the floor can be popped in and the box stored away –…

Plunket has long been New Zealand’s largest support service for the health and wellbeing of children and their families. From their Clinic in Wanaka, Plunket’s serves families across the Upper Clutha. This week the MenShed team completed a book shelf for Plunket. Built of re-cycled materials the book shelf is a small contribution to aid…

Never let it be said MenShed team are not versatile. This month the Wanaka Community Workshop was transformed to host Re-fashion – a fashion show cut differently. With the support of Queenstown Lakes District Council, Wastebusters Wanaka and Fabricate led the transformation. The aim was to show what can be achieved with recycled and upcycled…

The Wanaka Community Workshop regularly hosts Kahu Youth – in particular the team known as Grounded. Grounded are youth who are focused on improving our natural environment. The team are aiming to enhance recycling at Mt Aspiring College – Te Kura O Tititea. To achieve this the team are building two depots to locate at…

Jim Bob has been a resident of Wanaka throughout much of his life. Being a builder there are few places across the Upper Clutha which have not benefited from his skill and experience – houses, shops, community and farm buildings. Today the MenShed team benefits from Jim Bob’s skill – and his stories! This week…

Some 18 months ago the Wanaka Community Workshop was a new element in our community. Its great therefore that the Workshop can now play a role in welcoming new members to our community. The Workshop enables folk to practically establish themselves in their new home. They may involve creating some furniture or storage units. Workshop…

Over Easter Weekend our community hosted Wheels on Wanaka – a significant event dealing with everything on wheels. In order to aid folk getting around the large site in Three Parks a shuttle bus service is provided. The MenShed team supported the event by converting wooden pallets into seating for each of the bus stops.…

The Wanaka Community Workshop is also home to Wanaka Backyard Trapping – well at least their trap library. The trap library permits members of Wanaka Backyard Trapping to borrow various types of traps targeting pests such as stoats and rats. Each week members get a chance to learn how to best use the traps. This…

Thanks to the Wanaka and Districts Lion Club, the Wanaka Community Workshop have commissioned a range of new tools – battery powered drills, wood clamps and hand tools. The Lions Club and its members play a key role in ensuring our local community remains strong and vibrant. Through their support the MenShed team operating from…

The Upper Clutha is home to a couple of night time avian predators – the native Morepork or Ruru and the Little Owl. The Morepork can be heard (and sometimes seen) in bush areas within the built up areas of Wanaka. Little Owls can be seen around dusk and dawn on the edge of bush…

The Wanaka Community Workshop regularly hosts visitors to our region. Taking a break from cycling Emily took the opportunity to create a play space for her two year old – a fairy tree house. “Its great to work with the MenShed team and create something special, with your hands”, said Emily. She also came back…

The Wanaka Community Workshop is proving popular with visitors. Over recent months the Workshop has hosted folk seeking to create, maintain or enhance accommodation facilities in their vans. They originate from around the world – South America, Australia, Europe and North America. Following comments on social media sites and word of mouth visitors are attracted…

The Fabricate team at the Wanaka Community Workshop are well advanced in creating a Great Grebe. Unlike the Grebes found on the Lake, this one can walk on land. Not so good at flying however! The new costume is bound to be a feature at the upcoming Wanaka A&P Show. Perhaps a new icon for…

Learning about geko’s and skinks @Te Kakano Aotearoa Trust Wanaka is part of the network of community groups serving the Upper Clutha. Te Kakano through working with agencies, groups and individuals across our district seeks to protect healthy ecosystems and community wellbeing for years to come. A key element of Te Kakano’s efforts is focused…

Across the Upper Clutha thousands of traps are doing the business – helping to rid our district of pests such as stoats and rats. Being located in the outdoors the traps endure a tough life. Temperatures which fluctuate seasonally from 10-12 degrees below zero to 30 degrees above with long dry periods and periodic deluges…

Over the last year the MenShed team have built a number of lilliput libraries. The small libraries are managed by staff of the Queenstown Lakes District Council from Wanaka Library. They can be found in Hawea, Luggate as well as Wanaka. The latest to open is right outside the Wanaka Community Workshop in Gordon Road.…

This week the MenShed team commissioned a new machine at the Wanaka Community Workshop. The new machine is a planer thicknessor – a presision tool which will permit the team to upcycle timber as well as improve the quality of our products. The machine was purchased with a grant from the Queenstown Lakes District Council.…

The team at the MenShed are gearing up for the Wanaka A&P Show. The Wanaka Community Workshop is sharing a stall with a range of environmental and community groups. Its great working together with groups who are also making a difference for our community. For the stall the team are constructing easels to display signage…

Late last year the team at the MenShed built raised gardens at the pre school in Hawea. The project was a joint affair with funding provided by Wanaka Rotary. In their final days at school the kids planted out their new gardens. This week we received images of the success of their efforts. What a…

The fabricate studio within the Wanaka Community Workshop is a busy place. This week the years first learn the sew course commenced. The course runs an evening a week for 5 weeks. The end result will be a shirt and the skills learnt that can be applied to any project. This week the fabricate team…

Wheels at Wanaka is an all vehicle, all machinery history-in-motion vintage fair – including steam engines, tractors and farming heritage, cars, motor-bikes, trucks, earthmovers and heavy machinery. While Wheels at Wanaka will not take place until April, the MenShed team at the Wanaka Community Workshop is already preparing their contribution to the event. We are producing…