Wānaka Community Workshop News
Christmas & wellbeing
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…
Teeny Tiny House
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…
Brilliant Libraries
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…
A seat in the sun
With summer well on the way, the MenShed team at the Wanaka Community Workshop have been working on infrastructure – infrastructure with which to make the best of warm sunny days. Thus far the work has resulted in a couple of picnic tables. Each table is built of recycled timber, timber which would otherwise have…
Moving plants
Its great to see happy faces. This week the MenShed Team at the Wanaka Community Workshop delivered a couple of mobile stands for pot plants. The stands enable large pot plants to be moved about. They are simple in design but bring delight to the gardener.
New transport for Santa
The snow is almost gone and Christmas is nearly here. This week the MenShed team at the Wanaka Community Workshop have been lending Santa a hand with his transport. A new sleigh for Santa is coming together at the Workshop. Built from recycled materials the sleigh is light enough for flight yet sturdy for the…
Thank you!
This month, we celebrate four years of Wānaka Community Workshop. Thanks to the incredible support of our community, we’ve transformed from a humble idea in 2020 to a thriving hub of creativity, learning, and connection. Together, we’ve created a place where people can learn new skills, make intergenerational connections, and help shift towards a circular…
Play box’s
Its great to see stuff made by the MenShed Team at work in the community. With summer nearly here, kids are out and about. For them we have placed a few toy box’s – outside the Recreation Centre in Wanaka and lakeside at Roys Bay and Bremner Bay. When placed we “seeded” the box’s with…
Lilliput for Hawea
Our regions latest lilliput library has been erected outside Kids First pre school at Hawea Flat. The library was built by the MenShed team at the Wanaka Community Workshop from materials recycled from our local construction sector. Thanks for our local artist Chrissy Wikes and attendees of her art classes, the best part of the…
A helping hand
On Tuesday and Thursday mornings the MenShed team at the Wanaka Community Workshop welcome volunteers willing to give a helping hand. Many of the volunteers who turn up for a day or two are from overseas. They may be between jobs or just passing through and want to contribute to the community of Upper Clutha.…
Busy with toys
Christmas is coming. Like the elves, the MenShed team at the Wanaka Community Workshop are building toys. Each is built from wood upcycled from our local building industry. All the toys have wheels and come in various shapes and sizes – from trains, trucks and cars. The toys are simple and sturdy. Look out for…
Hawea play kitchen
The MenShed team at the Wanaka Community Workshop love working for kids. This week the team are completing a couple of projects for the Hawea Play Group. A play stove and kitchen tub will join a play table that we delivered recently. Our next project for the Hawea Play Group will be a new play…
Produce crates
Despite the odd snow dump, spring has sprung. In response across the region gardeners are clearing off the frost cloth and getting their seedling in the earth. The MenShed Team at the Wanaka Community Workshop are preparing too. For us it means building wooden crates to collect, transport and display all that garden produce expected…
Work experience
In all our lives we experience challenging times. For most of us the time between school and getting your first job is a challenge. We all need a helping hand at such times. Once a week, over recent weeks, the MenShed team have been hosting Lachlan who is soon to leave high school. A few…
Wheels at Wanaka
Wheels at Wanaka is an iconic event hosted within our Region. It draws people from throughout New Zealand and overseas. Wheels however is more than an event. Wheels is a charity which supports a wide range of local community groups including the Wanaka Community Workshop. Over recent weeks the MenShed Team at the Workshop have…
Fresh faces
It is always great to welcome new faces to our MenShed Team. Some folks are just passing through our region and want to contribute and met a few locals. For others this is their first visit to the Wanaka Community Workshop of what becomes many. Our new volunteers want to get stuff done. In response…
BBQ for the HUB
Community Link is an agency that ensures people in need of support across the Upper Clutha are connected with those who can help. In addition Community Link operates a range of services such as our Foodbank, transport to our local hospitals and Meals on Wheels. Community Link operates from The Hub in McDougall Street. Thanks…
Day out at the Museum
Every now and then the volunteers at the Wanaka Community Workshop take a day off. Previous days have involved trips into Central Otago. This time we stayed local visiting the Wanaka Transport and Toy Museum. The Museum houses a great collection – many of us found examples of our first motor vehicle among the collection.…
Hawea mud kitchen
The Hawea Play Group is a great community organisation. Based at Hawea Flat the Group serves Mum’s and Dad’s across one of our fastest growing regions in the Upper Clutha. Recently the MenShed team at the Wanaka Community Workshop has partnered with the Hawea Play Group in replacing play equipment. Built from recycled materials a…
Shelving for an MP
Miles Anderson, our local Member of Parliament, recently opened an electorate office in Wanaka. The MenShed team were delighted to be asked if we could help with some furnishing for the new office. This week the team delivered some shelving. The bookcase was built from recycled materials which had been donated to the Wanaka Community…
Doggie gates
The MenShed Team at the Wanaka Community Workshop are proud to work alongside community groups across the Upper Clutha. Recently the Team completed building and installing “doggie gates”. Their design enables dogs to easily pass rabbit proof fences established as part of a project by Wai Wanaka. The project is all about enhance native plantings…
Back in action
Each of us can recall their best childhood toy. Some of us are fortunate to be able to pass their best toy to their child or grandchild. Even better should their child or grandchild also love it. This week the MenShed team had the opportunity to undertake some running repairs to a large Tonka Toy…
Heavy duty stand
The MenShed team often respond to small projects and repairs sought by local residents. The projects are often just a bit unusual or commercial alternatives are not readily available. This week Gillian finished a pot stand – a stand that could cope with a 50 kilo pot and plant. The heavy duty stand also needed…
High load
We are fortunate at the Wanaka Community Workshop in having a decent sized trailer. We regularly use the trailer to pick up wood and construction materials donated to the workshop as well as deliver completed projects. Members can also borrow the trailer. This week members used the trailer to transport a load from Albertown to…
Home for Ruru
The team at the MenShed regularly construct traps for the removal of unwanted pests. We also build accommodation for animals, insects and birds we wish to see more of. This week the team were working on nesting box’s for owls. The Upper Clutha is home to a couple of night time avian predators – the…
Riding Bridge
Riding for the Disabled is an organisation that has long played a key role in communities across New Zealand. Wanaka is no exception. The MenShed Team at the Wanaka Community Workshop this week completed a bridge for use by horses and their riders. Built to a specified design the bridge provides an obstacle intended to…
Track tower
It’s great to receive a new challenge. This week the MenShed team completed a finish line tower for Aspiring Athletics. The tower will be placed at their Three Parks track for the 2024-25 Season. Its role is to provide a space for an official whose role is to determine who won. Created from upcycled materials…
Hides for septic tanks
In addition to projects for community groups, from time to time the MenShed undertake projects for households and small firms. The funds raised go toward the operational costs of the workshop – costs such as electricity, repairs, maintenance and rent. Often these projects are quite specialised. This week the team delivered a couple of covers…
Upcycled kit
We are well equipped at the Wanaka Community Workshop. While we purchase gear from time to time, most of our kit has been donated. A few weeks back we greatly received a machine that plane’s and thins wooden boards. It had sat unused for a few years but with some care, some repairs, an electrical…
Recycled Barrel’s
Every so often folk drop into the Wanaka Community Workshop with something to repair. This week the item was a long loved lounge chair created from wood recycled from a wine barrel. Fortunately we had in stock wooden boards sourced from a couple of wine barrels. These together with the application of some skill soon…
Hare today
Wanaka is a creative town – people who are innovative and artistic. We are fortunate at the Wanaka Community Workshop that such people are part of our community. Over recent days Fabricate, our textile workshop, has hosted the creation of a brace of giant hares. Created with imagination using upcycled fabric. Each is stuffed with…
Beach toy library popular
Its great to see the work of the MenShed team appreciated. A few months back we but together what is basically a large crate using wood recycled from wooden pallets. We named it a Beach Toy Library and placed it on the foreshore of Lake Wanaka along with a few wooden toys. The Beach Toy…
Monsters
The minds of the Fabricate team are innovative. Over recent weeks the team have been producing a range of monsters – round monsters, yellow monsters – each with faces that have great smiles. The monsters are fun and have proved popular with kids – and a few older folk as well!
Traps for Beacon Point
Work is underway at Beacon Point to enhance the natural environment. Wai Wanaka and Wanaka Backyard Trapping are leading this work. Seedlings are being established and paths upgraded. A key focus is to reduce the adverse impact of pests including rabbits and stoats. This week the team at the MenShed delivered traps that will be…
Toys for the kids
Over recent weeks the our team has benefited from the skills bought to us by Ian, a visitor to our town from Nelson. Ian has been busy building a range of wooden toys. They are great. Each is built from recycling wood. This week the first shipment of toys departed for the playgrounds of a…
Tool museum
The team at the Wanaka Community Workshop benefit from donations of tools and equipment from communities across the Upper Clutha. Some of these items are iconic – tools which have seen service for years. True hand tools – no electric cords, no batteries. A few of the designs even stumped our members – how were…
Thanks Cadrona
This week the team was out and about raising funds for the Community Workshop. Thanks to Cadrona we had four daily ski passes as prizes for our raffle. We also had help from the Cadrona fairy’s – two great personalities who channeled folk to purchase a ticket. The fairy’s day job is welcoming people to…
Hawea stick library
This week the MenShed team delivered our third Doggie Stick Library. This new library is located along the shore of Lake Hawea. Each is intended to promote a smile – especially with regard to the classic titles each library contains We have had some great feedback from dog walkers and walkers concerning the two libraries…
Fabricate 2 years old
Fabricate is an important element of the Wanaka Community Workshop. Fabricate is our textile workshop. It comes with a range of sewing machines, materials, tools and equipment. Most important are the people – people with the ideas, the skills and the drive to get stuff done. Recently Fabricate celebrated two years of operation. Clare and…
Bike stands for kids
The MenShed Team have been building cycle stands from recycled timber since the formation of the Wanaka Community Workshop. They are now found in households across the Upper Clutha. Recently a family sought small versions of the cycle stands for their kids bikes. We had not even thought about kids bikes! Clearly we were stuck…
Great sledging
Classic snow sports equipment relied upon simple materials, especially wood. Recently the MenShed team completed work to refurbish a snow sledge. The steel runners were cleaned off and repainted while recycled timber was used to create the platform. The owner will use the sled for a few runs before it becomes a key display item…
Mid year Christmas
There is snow on the hills and the fingers are numb after a morning bike ride to the Workshop. Must be time for the mid year Christmas lunch! The Wanaka Community Workshop is not just about making stuff. It is also about wellbeing, getting folk together to learn, share stories and views. Food always play…
Learning about wheels
It’s great when we get a chance to learn new things, especially if it involves some new peice of kit! This week the MenShed team benefited from a visitor. In town for four weeks he spotted the opportunity to volunteer at the Workshop. He did not just bring his experience and skills but a nifty…
Seats of colour
A few months back the MenShed team built a few wooden stools. They were a project designed for folk new to woodworking to test their skills. The chairs then went to artist Chrissi Weeks as a subject for her children’s art classes. This week they came back. A splash of color within the Workshop. A…
Yoga Bolster
Volunteers at Fabricate have been busy creating a range of yoga bolsters. A yoga bolster is an accessory popular among practitioners of the art. The bolster is used to provide comfort, support poses and increase stretching during restorative postures and deep breathing exercises. Our bolsters are full of fabric processed by our shredder. Funded via a…
Great Art
Over the last couple of years the lilliput library network serving the Upper Clutha community has expended. Many of the small libraries have been built by the MenShed team. While the team are great at building they are not so great at painting. To overcome this for some of our projects we partner with local…
New in town
Its great to welcome folks new to Wanaka. The town is gearing for the Winter season and we are welcoming visitors and seasonal workers alike. Its even better when, before the ski season commences in earnest, they drop into the Workshop to see what they can do for our community. We are always delighted to…
Fun in the snow
In Wanaka we all love winter – skis and snowboards abound. Perhaps the simple art of sledging is less popular than it once was. This week the MenShed team completed the repair and renovation of a classic snow sledge. The steel frame was found in the back of a garage it was dropped off by…
New digs for tiger worms
Feels like winter is now well on its way. Its not only humans who feel the effects, the tiger worms at the Wanaka Community Gardens slow down as well. This time around the MenShed team at the Wanaka Community Workshop aim to make life for the worms just a little easier with new accommodation. The…
Tidy kids
Its great to reinforce the value of recycling. Using timber and materials donated by our local construction sector this week the MenShed team completed a run of “tidy’s” for our local Primary School. The “run” was quite large, enough for three classes of kids. Each “Tidy” is a simple wooden box. Each will provide a…
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