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After weeks of planning and effort Fabricate is now operating from the Wanaka Community Workshop. Fabricate brings to the Wanaka an opportunity for the community to create with textiles. The first sewing machines are in place with more to follow. Fabricate is calling for donations to help with their set up. Members of our great…

Changes are nearing completion at the Wanaka Community Workshop. A new space has been created. The space is known as Fabricate and will focus upon working with textiles – sewing, stitching, upholstery etc. It’s going to be great – a whole new opportunity for our community. Fabricate is the brain child of Sue and Claire…

For members of the MenShed its great to see projects they have worked on serving their intended purpose. Over recent weeks three food banks have been delivered – to the Wanaka Community Hub, the Wanaka Recreation Centre and at Lugate. Each provides an opportunity to share local produce and to reduce the cost of feeding…

At times one just needs a break. While its sunny, its also cool – the first snows have fallen in Wanaka. Time for mid year Christmas! This week the team at the Menshed had an extended tea break – complete with cake and a rather dubious Christmas tree. Its great to get stuff done but…

The Friends of Bullock Creek recently completed an extension to their walkway. The walkway enables easy access to this wonderful ecological gem located within the urban area of Wanaka. The Friends have over the years been the catalyst behind the restoration and protection of Bullock Creek and the fresh wayer springs which are its source.…

A few weeks back the Wanaka Community Workshop hosted Wanaka Backyard Trapping – an agency promoting the trapping of pests by local land owners. Wanaka Backyard Trapping introduced the concept of a trap library – traps that people may borrow, much like people borrow books from the library. The traps have been a roaring success.…

The Wanaka Community Workshop has been operating for about a year. Starting off small, one of our initial projects was the fabrication of gnome houses. Each was then painted by kids from Duke of Edinburgh and William Pike then erected adjacent to the children’s pump cycle track in Bremner Bay. It was a great project…

All stormwater that falls upon land across the Upper Clutha eventually drains into our Lakes and Rivers. Stormwater is not pure. It picks up and takes with it materials and chemicals that our natural waters can do without. Furthermore many of us directly pour liquids we no longer want for ourselves down the stormwater drain…

The newest member of the New Zealand’s network of lilliput libraries stands just outside the main public entrance to the Wanaka Recreation Centre. Lilliput number 305 is managed by staff at Wanaka Library. Since established Lilliput 305 has been busy – on average 23 books every day are being withdrawn. A few weeks back, the…

Recently the team from the Men’s Shed have been working with the Department of Conservation piloting a new design for traps. The traps are intended for Norwegian Rats which reside on islands within Lake Wanaka. The islands are also home to rare Weka – curious birds with long beaks. The new traps are longer. They…

Lilliput Library Cromwell Kidsfirst Kindergaten now has their Lilliput Library up at 25 Gilling Place, Cromwell, New Zealand. A year ago Nicola came into the WCW and asked about the Lilliput Library she had seen in the media. Cromwell kids could really do with one. The workshop had only just started and we were trying…

This week the team at the Mens Shed were preparing for the next visit by the MINT Charitable Trust to the Wanaka Community Workshop. The MINT Trust support those in Upper Clutha Area with intellectual disabilities. Each visit to the Wanaka Community Workshop involves practicable work assembling an item that can be taken home. The…

This week members of the Mens Shed working from the Wanaka Community Workshop completed a job for the Friends of Bullock Creek. Bullock Creek emerges from ground water springs and runs through Wanaka entering the Lake adjacent to Dinosaur Park. The stream is a treasured natural icon of our town. Over many years the Friends…

It makes a difference to grow your own vegetables – a taste difference for us and its easier on the planet. This week the team from the Mensshed operating from the Wanaka Community Workshop built a structure to house a raised garden. The new garden will serve a number of our elder residents of Wanaka.…

Visiting one of the regions antique stores Alan spotted a hand forged pick – a relic of the gold rush. He considered the tool deserved a new life. Using equipment at the Wanaka Community Workshop Alan cleaned and brushed up the steel. He then turned and shaped a new handle. Good as new!

​Te Kakano is a Trust which operates a Wanaka community based native plant nursery. It specialises in propagating plants originating from our local Upper Clutha region. The plants raised are then used for native habitat restoration around the region. In this the Trust works with local community groups, schools, organisations and businesses in a hands…

At the Wanaka Community Workshop the MenShed team were recently joined by members of the Wanaka Garden Club. The Club is planning a get together for their members in late March. The get together will held at the Workshop. One of the objectives is for members of the Garden Club to assemble seed box’s within…

M!NT is a group of local parents in our community who are supporting children and young adults with intellectual disabilities. Jude who works with M!NT as their ambassador dropped into the Wanaka Community Workshop recently. She shared her idea with supporters of the MenShed that they could make “something” to be sold at an upcoming…

A key objective of the Wanaka Community Workshop is to reduce waste. The key means by which we achieve this is by re-using and re-purposing material that would otherwise be dumped. Recently volunteers dismantled wooden racks which once held products at the now closed Mitre 10 shop off Reece Cresent. This work took many hours.…

Insects are a key part of our ecosystem. They are pollinators, they deal with waste and they are food for a host of animals. Given these benefits its important to monitor the extent and diversity of insect populations. This week the team from the Mens (and womans) Shed completed six insect monitoring stations for WAI…

At the Wanaka Community Workshop we use recycled materials, materials which would otherwise have been disposed of. Wood products such as timber and plywood as well as screws, nails and bolts are an important part of this. However we also reuse paint and stains which would otherwise have been disposed of. We need to store…

Reading is important. Important for society as a whole. Important for us as individuals. Its also fun. Encouraging reading is a key mission for Wanaka Library. Part of this is making it easy for folk to access books. With a great book collection at the library and on line, our librarians are working to complement…

The MenShed operates out of the Wanaka Community Workshop every Tuesday and Thursday morning. This week Peter Young dropped in with an offer – would we like a band saw? Would we? We would love it! Half and hour later Peter was back. Peter brought with him a band saw that had served him over…

This week John Darby who has led the program to save the endangered Great Crested Grebe’s for the last decade visited the Wanaka Community Workshop. John was accompanied by Dave Thomas and Markus Hermanns. They were checking out the refurbishment of a second batch of nesting platforms. The Great Crested Grebe is a water bird…

Tired of picking your bike up off the floor? Weary of trying to balance your cycle up against a wall? The Wanaka Community Workshop has the answer to your problem – a bike stand. The stands are made from construction waste that would otherwise have ended up in a landfill. Simple, stable and custom designed…

It may surprise some but its not all work at the Mens Shed. We also enjoy the odd brew – a cuppa. Indeed the time for a cuppa is a key part of our day. A time to catch up and share stories. Without running water in our kitchen our brew ups were more akin…

Its always great to welcome folk who drop into the Wanaka Community Centre. This week Catie called in to give a hand to the supporters of the MenShed. Catie is working in town over the University holidays, heard about the MenShed and thought she would give it a go. We were busy. The supporters are…

Gillian and her husband moved to Wanaka in July. Gillian’s family had holidayed here for years. Taking the plunge and relocating south from Auckland meant they needed to engage with the community here in Wanaka. They joined the MenShed. “It was great to learn new skills” said Gillian. But what I love most about the…

Early in 2021 long term Wanaka resident Lindsay dropped into the Wanaka Community Workshop. She presented a challenge. Could we restore a garden seat which her granddad had owned? At the MensShed we have people like Stu Simpson who like a challenge. With new woodwork and refurbished steel work the seat, resplendent in classic kiwi…

The first panel was lifted on the 29th of November, three weeks and 300 volunteer hours (and a few sausage rolls) later we have some wood stacked up ready to sell. 14th and 15th of January, between 0900 and 1500 we will have the gates open for buying / collecting wood. Pricing will vary with…

Mons Royale founder and CEO Hamish Acland attended a Bike-vember event where participants built their own bike rack from waste materials. He and his son Ted enjoyed it so much they came back with the Mons Royale Wanaka Headquarters team. The brief was to lead four teams through a circular design process creating bike racks…

During the shift from Anderson Road to the new Three Parks location Mitre10 Mega there was a massive clean up, many items nuts, bolts, screws, tools were put aside as they were missing items or in broken packaging. The Wanaka Community Workshop was the lucky recipient of large quantities of this. During the collection of…

The Tuesday and Thursday morning sessions, 9am-12pm, are really starting to crank. We started with Alan, two more Alan’s showed up and now we have up to a dozen regulars making rat traps, shelving, organizing the workshop and working on their own projects.

On the 18th April 2021 the 4KT Elephant Workshop happened at the Wanaka Community Workshop. A wonderful event that resulted in beautiful elephants going home with the happy makers.

We’re getting some stuff done. Today Dunlop Building dropped off some great materials and we started making the first sign. Evolution!

The building is rented at 15 Gordon Road and will be open for the first time on Thursday 1st April 2021. Drop in and see what is happening. If you can bring us any timber, a saw bench or some volunteer labour all the better!

The end of the year is here and while we haven’t achieved what we were hoping to, a locked in physical location to start the Wanaka Community Workshop journey, we have started a Charitable Trust, done a lot of research and feel like we’re closer to making the idea a reality. We’re feeling confident we’ll…