July saw the start of our self styled “Eco Festival”. To kick things off Carlibar Family Centre come along to build our first Bug Hotel (or “Big Bug House” as it became known) . The group then set off to explore the diversity of bugs and beasties the wildflower garden has to offer under the auspices… Continue Reading
What have sewage and food growing got in common? In response to the reinvention of Water Works from derelict industrial site into a social, growing and wildlife hub for the local area; artists Alex and Hannah are working with local people to investigate the sites history through the different ‘cycles’ which continue to take place here, such… Continue Reading
Last Saturday saw Oceanallover present their latest performance project Sea Hames at Water Works, a fabulous costumed extravaganza that not even the rain could dampen. Here is a snippet from Herald Scotland’s five star review from the following day at The Tramway – “…there was a chance to see Alex Rigg and his company delivering Sea Hames… Continue Reading
Fancy helping out at the Water Works? We have fortnightly Friday volunteer sessions 11am-3pm starting 28 April (check out our events for dates). Come along and get involved! Water Works will particularly appeal to volunteers who enjoy the outdoors, gardening, creativity, fresh air, working with their hands, gentle exercise and cups of tea. The emphasis is… Continue Reading
Yesterday (Thursday 6 April) the Water Works hosted it’s first community event of the Spring – a community BBQ & Spring Clean. Organised by representatives of the Water Works Action Group, this event this along with January’s Burns Night are perfect examples of the community taking the lead and making things happen. we want to see… Continue Reading
Happy new year everyone. Although 2016 may be remembered for all the wrong reasons, the Water Works is hopefully the exception. Here’s a rundown of 2016 The year started off with East Renfrewshire’s first community orchard. Hundreds of secondary school pupils, community groups and individuals planted over 250 different species of apple, pear and plum… Continue Reading
Beautiful timelapse of Water Works thanks to the families who came to support that February early morning. The results are wonderful # growild Continue Reading
We are into the later stages of autumn when nature goes into hibernation and things start to quieten down. However, behind the scenes at Water Works HQ (which is currently the Men’s Shed Roberston Street, Barrhead) plans are afoot for a community led ‘Water Works Action Group’ to bring forward a programme of events and… Continue Reading
If you have visited the Water Works over Summer 2016 you will have probably noticed the Water Works ‘Pumpkin Patch’. A tangle of vines and wildflowers in one of the old tanks (incidentally, this was filled with compost made from the green waste bins collected in East Renfrewshire). As a previous post explains, local children grew… Continue Reading
Part of the Water Works Autumn programme saw us team up with Stephen Porch from Glasgow’s Flower Power Project for a series of end of season activities – seed collecting and traditional meadow management. Key ingredients for a successful species rich wildflower meadow. Big thanks to Barrhead and Thornliebank Centres for coming out for the… Continue Reading
On Tuesday 16 August the Water Works hosted guests from around the country to celebrate Grow Wild – our glorious benefactors- awarded the ‘Best Environment Project’ in the National Lottery Awards 2016. Amongst distinguished guests we had Anita Rani from BBC fame come along and do the presentation and some interviews. Blazing sunshine, good chat,… Continue Reading
On Friday 5 August 2016 the water Works hosted its first ‘Wild @ Water Works’ bioblitz event. As well as discovering and recording as much biodiversity as possible we had honeybee trails, DIY bird feeders and nest box building to add to the interest. With a little help from Joe and Howie from the Dams… Continue Reading
On Monday 1 August 2016 we welcomed Carlibar Family Centre – around 20 children and their families – to the Water Works for an afternoon of fun nature activities. The kids took part in our Water Works treasure hunt and James (our Artist in Residence) helped make some handmade clay flower pots. Great day out… Continue Reading
Water Works have teamed up with the East Renfrewshire Culture and Leisure Trust to help build capacity and deliver more exciting events and activities. We are pleased to announce that James Gow is now our ‘Artist in Residence’ (AiR). James’ first job was to organise the Water Works Art Camp – 5 days of fun,… Continue Reading
On 18 October 2016 the Richmond Fellowship hosted the second Water Works Big Lunch event. In addition to this the Water Works was able to unveil its new Pizza oven, constructed by volunteers (using clay from the orchard field!) for the community. With food, games, sunny weather, wildflowers, delicious food and lots of happy people… Continue Reading
The Water Works is slowly evolving in order to meet the needs of the community. At the top of the site near the compound there are four small tanks with one currently used as the Richmond Community Garden. This area would have been the start of the treatment train for the old water treatment works,… Continue Reading
On the 6 April we held our first Make your Mark event and community planting day. Although the Water Works has plenty of character, it arguably lacks an identity. The best people to help shape this identity are local people, so an event that allows “a creative exploration at the Water Works” will help some… Continue Reading
March 2016 saw the planting of Barrhead’s first community orchard. With a wee bit of preparation for drainage and a local farmer applying a healthy dose of fertiliser, the field along Glasgow Road was ready for planting. S1 pupils from Barrhead High School were the first to visit the orchard site and, following a rough… Continue Reading
Welcome the Water Works news blog. Here you can find out what is going on at the Water Works and how to get involved. This logs activities from 2016 onwards, so happy reading and don’t forget to sign up as a friend of the Water Works. Continue Reading
