B&Q Store Support Office

Who are WasteNot WantNot (WiN project) We are a community group with a team of volunteers collecting a range of donated and surplus items - from food to household items, toys, flowers, plants and gardening items to decorating items and craft materials. We seek to match what is available with those who need it. Where we are based --- We are based across the Waterside area in the New Forest, near Southampton and serve a number of different communities across the area. How we identify our service users and their needs --- Through strong community links we hear what is needed and by whom. Individuals and households are often referred to us by local contacts - churches, a local preschool and nursery, toddler groups or charity groups such as our local foodbank, a local housing charity and a debt advice and support group. Sometimes through recommendation from our service users new folk will come to see us. What we can offer --- Our aim is to help those most in need first, particularly where food support or additional household things are needed, although anyone is welcome to our larger food share outs to avoid waste. Straight after collecting food we drive into local communities where folk will be waiting at one of our arranged "pop ups". We have several different venues, sharing from a church hall and in other communities from pop up tables. Food is organised and folk are able to choose items that they need or can use. These "pop ups" enable us to get food out rapidly after collecting. Volunteers deliver to some who are housebound. Through chatting to our service users we discover other needs that we can look to help with or recommend them to go to other groups. During school holidays we support a local cooking project with produce who cook and feed families and the housebound. Flowers and plants are delivered to housebound, sick or bereaved folk. Larger plants to school libraries and care homes and other plants to community planting areas. We endeavour to build and strengthen our links with other local groups and charities, sharing and supporting where we can. Relationships built enable us to sign post service users to support groups locally e.g. for debt support, housing issues, mental health support, accessing childrens groups or other charitible groups offering practical support. We are continually developing new ideas to help as many as we can wherever we can. We have a public facebook page - WasteNot WantNot (WiN project) https://www.facebook.com/groups/363922535329538 you can contact us at WNWNproject@outlook.com to find out more about us. Thank you.

New Forest Aquaponics cic regenerative culture hub. We aim to help the understanding of connections with all parts of modern life, and our biosphere. At our core is Aquaponics - the farming of fish and edible plants, as well as growing all types of food. To grow food we need good soil, and good people working together. Good people need food, somewhere to meet and grow the food, and to feel valued. We aim to set up a community owned farm in the New Forest. . We are keen to hear from anyone who could help us provide this resource for the Waterside area of the New Forest. I Some of our active projects, please let us know if you would like to get involved - help is always appreciated The Waterside Food Project - Feed people, Feed animals, compost. We firmly believe that no one should ever go hungry, no food should ever be wasted, and no food should ever go to landfill or incineration. We work with smaller groups across the Waterside, providing resources to make sure they can get access to supermarket excess food, by collecting the food and recognising who can make best use of what's been collected. The groups we work with provide support for low income families and provide emergency food parcels, or cook for the homeless. Food that cannot be eaten, but can feed animals, goes to animal groups, and anything that is left after the people and animals are fed is composted, the compost will be used to help teach food growing. Ecobricks UK - Teaches communities all about plastic, how and why we are in such a mess with it, providing methods of tracking plastic transition and how we can measure our positive impacts on our biosphere. This is done via workshops, online and in person. Support is offered as to how the ecobricks can be used to bring benefit to the community whilst sequestering the plastic out of the biosphere. Waterside Clothes Swaps - We all need clothing, and with the cost of living increasing buying clothes, even from charity shops ,can be out of reach for some. Combine that with the damage the textile industry is doing to our world, helping with both issues is super important, we do this via waterside clothes swaps. We are in need of support - could you donate towards our hall hire costs, or donate clothes rails or even clothes? The Virtually Real Forest - our project to create deep connections between children and trees. Again working with Blackwell Bushcraft we run workshops on trees and their importance to our biosphere. Each child is able to take a tree home to grow in a pot becoming a guardian of that tree. The tree is registered with The Virtually Real Forest, its journey can be followed, and support in caring for the tree can be given to the guardian of the tree. The aim of the scheme is to create more understanding of trees, and how they grow. More details are on the blog section of our website. We are looking for funding to provide the workshops to community groups and schools.

Southampton City Farm is part of Oasis, a national charity focused on “transforming communities”. As a charity, we get no funding from the government, meaning we have to raise our own funds to function and offer the massive range of activities and services we do 7 days a week. As a charity (registered number 1138872) Southampton City Farm offers a range of activities, which include: • A day service for adults with different abilities • School visits from nursery through to secondary education • Weekend opening to the public • Weekend Birthday parties throughout the year where you get to meet all our lovely animals and pick and feed them vegetables grown in our gardens • Holiday activities • Farm festivals throughout the year • Education visits for community groups including Scouts/Brownies and Young Carer’s group • Day visits for Care groups and Nursing homes to the farm to benefit from the therapeutic engagement with our animals • Specialist one to one sessions with individuals with complex needs or risk of exclusion from an education setting • Community events Southampton City Farm is primarily an education charity based in Southampton, and we have a big impact on the community. Our charity is different in being the only urban city farm in Hampshire, so we are completely unique. We aim to be the centre of the community, striving to deliver as many life changing sessions as possible. We are a city farm that focuses on volunteering opportunities, creating a safe environment for people with learning difficulties to experience the activities we can offer, as well as learn vital life skills, which include woodwork, cooking, gardening and crafts. The farm supports a wide range of people and we strive to work inclusively, to empower individuals and to provide a shared and supportive environment for everyone to grow. Our projects offer opportunities for those who have a physical or mental disability, the retired and the elderly and those in receipt of benefits or a low income to contribute and participate in our city farm and helping us to transform communities. The opportunity to volunteer, work and contribute to the farm provides a sense of wellbeing and satisfaction to everyone who visits. We continue to empower people to realise their potential and go on to paid employment or maintain independent living skills. We also offer young carers and adult carers an opportunity to enjoy the farm and have a break from their caring responsibilities, some of whom have not had a holiday from their caring responsibilities for years. We actively support students, those in receipt of benefits and others to gain work experience or volunteering as a way of obtaining a reference and gaining self-confidence to pursue their career aspirations. This growing community that we support is constantly evolving, which brings renewed energy to all of our projects and fosters a greater sense of ownership, passion and consideration for others.