Wellingborough Eco Group was set up to help protect and improve our borough’s environment and care for nature, to reduce, reuse, repair and recycle items that would otherwise end up in landfill, and to help local people reduce their carbon footprints.
Our base is at the Eco Hub, The Swansgate Centre, 18 Spring Lane, Wellingborough NN8 1EY .
We started as a community group in 2019, and with a growing demand for our services, we became a Community Interest Company in December 2024.
The group is open to everyone and aims to collaborate with local councillors, businesses and other community organisations. Our current projects include:
Repair Café which is held at The Victoria Centre, 46-50 Palk Rd, Wellingborough NN8 1HR once a month where people can bring along all sorts of broken items and our volunteer repairers will do their best to fix them.
Swap Shops held twice a week where people can bring clothes or household items they don’t want, to swap for other things they need. Alternatively they can give a small donation for items they want.
Litter Picking Events on the last Saturday of the month where we clear up a different area each time. We also work with Wellie Wombles.
Sew Social, a sewing and crafts group which meets once a week to work on their own or collaborative projects.
Food Sharers held twice a week (usually at the same times as Swap Shop) where people can take food, rescued from local supermarkets, for free or a small
donation if they can afford it.
School Uniform Bank where anyone can donate outgrown school uniforms for others to take.
Happy Café, which usually takes place the same time as Swap Shop and Food Sharers, where anyone can come along for a chat and get a hot drink .
Replay Games, which takes place one evening a week where anyone can meet to play board games or old computer games.
Tree Planting in the parks around Wellingborough, which is organised during the winter months in conjunction with North Northants Council.
Tiny Forests, which we have worked on jointly with other organisations. This is a Japanese method of creating a small native woodland very quickly. It can be used for educational purposes, as well as to enhance the environment and sequester carbon dioxide.
Community Allotment which holds working parties once a week to allow anyone to learn to grow vegetables and other plants and which also incorporates a small tree nursery.
Green Drinks once a month, in a local pub, to socialise and discuss environmental issues.
Nature Rangers group which collaborates with other organisations to help to give plants, trees, birds, insects and animals a chance to thrive by restoring habitats and by caring for our wild creatures.
The Artist’s Window – At our current venue, we are working with The Artist’s Window charity to promote local artists and crafters and provide occasional craft workshops with an emphasis on using recycled materials
These are our current projects, but where we can, we try to take any opportunities to protect our local environment and help the community, so our activities will change and expand over time.
Website: https://wellingboroughecogroup.org.uk/eco/
