A local sustainability centre is trying to make nature accessible, enjoyable and beneficial through their upcycling events in Quayside.
The plans are to encourage those in the community to get involved in activities based on sustainability, mental health and wellbeing.
Take Action Together is a non profit community interest company offering a range of programs that are accessible and affordable for all.
It was founded two years ago by three neurodiverse mothers Fay Watts, Lauren Cartwright and Ema Couteleau Charlton.
They encourage people to bring in scrap waste materials which they transform into new, exciting products and teach the younger generation the importance of upcycling.
Take Action Together are sponsored by Salford Loading, who offered them a unit within the Quayside shopping centre and are funded by Recycle for Greater Manchester, who pay for them to run workshops.
Fay Watts, one of the directors, started the company two years ago. She previously owned a zero-waste shop in Walkden named The Dispensary, before having to close due to the cost-of-living crisis.
Throughout her life, Fay has been dedicated and passionate towards sustainability and wanted to make a change, saying:
“I was a teacher for 10 years and my passion has always been rooted in curiosity and sustainability so we opened this sustainability studio where we take in people’s scrap and household waste and reuse it to make something new.”
She continued: “I’m vegan and I’m very empathetic regarding the environment. I was going through a dark patch wondering why no one was doing anything to help the environment, and I was getting fed up of going to more gentrified areas like Didsbury to get products that were zero waste, so that’s why decided to create my own shop in Salford, just to try and make a difference.”
The sustainability studio aims to inspire future generations of Salford, as she said: “There has been a huge shift in sustainability and more people are open to accepting it. We are aimed at educating the children and teaching them this in an entertaining and non-patronising manner.”
She spoke about her hopes for the future generation and how these events can inspire younger people in the Salford community, saying:
“It feels very hopeful to realise what we can do with all this spare stuff. Having this sustainability studio will have great benefits to Salford community, we are hoping people will bring in their waste and learn more about recycling, reusing and reducing and that will have a domino effect on the community, even a slight shift in perception can make a massive difference.”
They host several workshops for families in their location at Unit 16, upstairs in The Lowry outlet, such as Scrap play.
During half-term they hosted a Halloween themed workshop, where they used scrap materials to create ghost family portraits.
They are also hosting a Halloween costume swap, where people can bring in their old and used Halloween costumes, and swap for a new one to stop more plastics going into landfill.
Claire Carson from Salford, brought her two sons, eight and 11 to the event, along with her 12 year old nephew and shared the benefit of having low-cost events within the half term.
She said: “We’ve done a lot of exciting high-cost activities over the half term so far and we wanted an event that was more relaxing and mindful.
“It’s lovely to have a low-cost community event, especially around Halloween as there is so much commercialism and plastic so it’s good to emphasise to the children that there is a lot we can do with what we already have to create beautiful things.”
She spoke about how it could affect the Salford community and the positive affect it could have, saying:
“If we role model the right behaviour, we will be in a much better future position by teaching children to reuse and recycle, children are much more aware than people give them credit.
“It’s great that these places are opening and using up empty units and making good use of them. To use this as a community hub is much more valuable and shows they are investing in the community.
“Opening these businesses up can inspire other education providers to show them there is a lot more than can be done in Salford.”
The studio is open Monday, Wednesday and Saturdays from 10am-2pm.
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