Mending, making, cooking and music!
Our workshops turned up a great crowd of excited participants who were eager to learn some new tricks. We had heaps of interest from the community with pretty much all our events being filled up on the day- a sign that people were really keen to connect after our time in lockdown. There’s nothing like crafting and music to bring people together to learn some handy skills in a super relaxed and joyful environment, am I right?
The Workshops
First up was our Resoursonance workshop on Saturday July 4th headed by The Rubbish Trip’s Liam Prince who showed off his DIY box bass and demonstrated how to make a wine bottle “piano” among other quirky musical creations.
This was followed by the Plastic Free Market Day on the Sunday which was a buzzing hive of activity as vendors presented their wares to a keen and curious crowd of all ages.
There was everything from upcycled and plant-dyed clothing, home-made rat traps to preserve our rich Waiheke bird life, creative jewelry made from broken pieces, high tea from the Waiheke Greens, storytelling and fun eco-educational games from An invitation from Papatuanuku and impressive weaving work! Woah!
Next we had our WRT Whanau Day which welcomed the awesome kids from Ostend Childcare’s Bush School to learn about worm farming, how to make beeswax wraps and use up old bread in bread pies.
Following that we mended our favourite well-worn clothes and bags under the expert instruction of Bea from Heke Design and got even craftier making jar slips for the Good to Go jar-repurposing project which is headed by Carys & Kayleigh. Check out more of what they’ve been getting up to on their instagram at https://www.instagram.com/goodtogowaiheke/.
We then learned how to make our very own journals using old cardboard & magazines, unused school books and plant-dyed paper in our bumper workshop which saw Re-bound and Hada Kali join forces to make something truly beautiful.
After that came a fantastic-smelling workshop hosted by Carys Templer who guided a big group of 20 participants to make their own kawakawa balm which can be used to help soothe a variety of skin issues. This workshop was extremely popular and Carys is keen to run another one so drop her an email at carys@wrt.org.nz if you’re interested.
Heke Design and Liz Ross, our much loved WRT yoga instructor, combined their visions to make 100% upcycled yoga bolsters for use in the community yoga classes. Come along to the Waiheke Sustainability Centre every Wednesday at 9am to join is an Om.
Our big finale was the Great Big Rescued Food Cook-off 2020 edition which was so much fun. We had a big turn-out from the young international crowd and locals alike.
It was invigorating to watch them work as they went head-to-head in the kitchen to create fabulous dishes from rescued food and be in with the chance to win some great Love Food hate Waste prizes. Critique & comedy went hand in hand as our celebrity guest judges, professional chef Jon o’Shea and comedian Dame Edna Child, dished out their knowledge to the eager participants.
These are just some of the workshops that went down a treat this July. If you’d like to run your own workshop then please contact info@wrt.org.nz to share your idea. We’re always keen to collaborate on something fun that will help to spread the message of sustainability.
Reusable Takeaways?
This July our Zero Waste Coordinator Kayleigh was on a mission to help support local businesses to reduce single-use for Plastic free July…and beyond! Collaborating with talented design interns Sian & David as well as Carys Templer (the most enthusiastic zero waster in NZ!) The team had their sights set on creating something that could really make a difference.
What came out of that collaboration were these sweet as, custom-designed certificates! The idea was to get businesses onboard by supporting them in their pledge to reduce their amount of single-use takeaway containers given out for the whole month of July. Some even went 100% reusable!
Certificates were seen proudly displayed at La Dolce Vita, Waiheke Juice Revolution- who are now wonderfully using 100% reusable containers- His Master’s Cart coffee, Waiheke Bean, Akito, Betty’s Cart, Timbuktu, Palm Beach Store & Cafe and the Challenge Waiheke petrol station!
Nga mihi community
It truly was a month of waste-minimising action with heaps of people using our Plastic free July certificate generator through our website, coming along to learn some upcycling or mending skills at one of our many workshops, or encouraging local businesses to give more reusable takeaway options.
We can’t wait for next year and we truly hope that whatever you may have learned on your plastic free journey this year can stick. See you in July for another round of inspiring fun!
