|
Award winning 'Refresh' project to
expand after show flat success
AN award winning up cycling project is
expanding in Wirral after the success of a pilot scheme. 'Refresh'
re-uses
unwanted materials and furniture from Magenta Living's empty properties and
'Bulky Environmental Refuse Team' (BERT) service to prevent items going to
landfill, minimise waste and reduce fly tipping.
To kick start the project, a show flat has been fully furnished using up cycled
furniture to show what can be achieved with items that would otherwise have been
wasted.
A well attended engagement workshop took place using an empty Magenta Living
flat in Seacombe. Volunteers were involved in creating:- mood boards, painting,
joinery and decorating unwanted furniture items used to furnish the flat and
bring it back to life, whilst learning new skills in the process.
The project is delivered in partnership by Magenta Living, Wirral Council and
Wirral Environmental Network (WEN) and aims to encourage Magenta Living tenants
and the wider community to volunteer and up cycle furniture by providing
residents with renovated and refreshed furniture for use in their homes.
Magenta Living has also used the service to furnish some of their properties to
provide much needed support for new tenants.
Due to the success of this project and the show flat, Magenta Living, Wirral
Council and WEN will be opening a new Refresh shop on Hoole Road, Woodchurch.
This will be used for training in up cycling with a space available to display
the up cycled furniture, ready for people from the community to use in their
home.
The Mayor of Wirral, Cllr Ann McLachlan who officially opened the show flat
said:- "I was delighted and surprised to see the fantastic job which had
been made of the furniture, which fully kitted out the flat. It looked fantastic; the volunteers were so proud of their work and I have to say they were all
very skilled, with lots of flair and imagination; whether painting, recovering
or putting the whole scheme together.
Anybody would be proud to live in that flat with such great decor and furniture.
This is a great example of how different organisations working together, in this
case Magenta Living, WEN and the Council, can produce such positive outcomes."
John Mycock, Assistant Director of Housing Services at Magenta Living said:-
"Magenta Living residents have been involved in the Refresh project from the
start and it's great to see what they have achieved. By volunteering and
learning new skills this has encouraged them to improve their personal
well-being and discover talents that they probably didn't realise they had."
The Refresh project won a Level 4 'Thriving' award at the Royal
Horticultural Society, North West In Bloom:- 'It's Your Neighbourhood Awards
2017' for the fabulous floral displays the volunteers made out of various
unwanted materials.
For further information about the Refresh project, contact:- Maureen Davies,
Magenta Living's Environmental Services Manager, on:- 0808 100 9596.
|
