Raking & Baking

We are now fully booked for our Raking and Baking course which is under-way. If you applied but were not successful this time around, we have added you to our waiting list. You may be contacted if somebody drops out of the course.

It is 1 day a week – Tuesdays, 10 am to 3 pm (excluding school holidays) and the exact dates are listed below.

Places are limited so please contact us soon for the enrolment form.

Autumn Season – 7 weeks, 6th of September – 18th of October
Winter Season – 7 weeks, 1st of November – 13th of December
Winter break – 9 weeks
Early Spring Season – 6 weeks, 21st of February – 27th of March
Spring Season – 7 weeks, 17th of April – 29th of May
Summer Season – 6 weeks, 12th of June – 17th of July 2011

At the gardening sessions you will learn how to manage a small garden and how to plan it using permaculture principles. The workshops will include sessions on container growing, composting, sowing seeds, companion planting and harvesting. As well as gardening for food production we will create a culinary and medicinal herb garden.

The cooking sessions will focus on how to cook fresh, healthy and well-balanced meals and how to use the surplus of crops to last all year by making chutneys, cordials and jams. We will also run sessions on international cuisine which will include Italian, West Indian, Japanese, Somali and varied Asian cuisine.

For more information please contact me on 0117 955 1351 or e-mail Mail me!

Topics which will be covered in the first two terms:

Gardening sessions for Autumn Term
 Build a raised bed and low plastic cover for winter protection
 Composting, worm farms, plant feed/fertiliser, compos teas/bio brews
 Winter salad sowings and harvesting (throughout autumn and winter terms)
 Winter vegetable growing (several sessions throughout both terms including autumn onion sets, planting garlic and sowing winter beans)
 Green manures and mulches
 Harvesting and storing herbs for cooking and home remedies
 Protection for over-wintering vegetables
Wildlife needs in the winter garden

Cooking sessions for Autumn Term:
 Jam and cordial making
 Chutneys and preserves
 Apple pressing and pasteurising
 Harvest food celebrations for Autumn Equinox
 Bottling vegetables and using unripe produce
 Home baking- sweet treats for colder months
 Pumpkin carving, Hallowe’en and Samhain celebration food
 Traditional Diwali celebration foods

Gardening sessions for Winter Term:
 Seed ordering and storage
 Sprouting and indoor windowsill gardening
 Soft fruit and fruit trees- planting, pruning and training (several sessions)
 Tool maintenance and greenhouse and garden preparation for Spring
 Vegetable planting forcing for early crops
 Compost and soil care in cold months
 Permaculture Principles for planning your own garden

Cooking sessions for Winter Term:
 Mexican food and Day of the Dead treats
 Traditional Eid celebration food
 Home remedies, food for winter health
 Winter soups and stews
 Bread and savoury baking
 Traditional Hanukkah celebration food
 Traditional Christmas/winter solstice party celebration food from around the world

Update on Tai Chi & Tea Dances for over 50's

July 2011

Tai Chi

From 22nd of July our successful Tai Chi workshops for over 50's will be run at a low cost, as usual every Friday at 2 pm. The participants, who appreciated the free classes so far agreed to contribute £3 each to the class to make the project sustainable. They all can see the benefits of regular exercise designed specially for them. NHS Bristol will support the project covering any shortfall for time being. Anyone can join at anytime. Exercise, energise and improve your balance! Under 50's are welcomed accompanying an older neighbour, a friend or a family member.

Tea Dance

Our Tea Dances will run monthly on the first Thursday of each month beginning on 1st of September. The sessions will be run as usual with refreshments served from 2.00 pm, followed by 2 hours gentle dance session in the Main Hall and finished with a cup of tea and an opportunity to socialise until 4.30 pm. No partner or previous experience needed.

For more information please contact the community centre on 0117 955 1351.

Outdoor Spaces Update

18 July 2011

Outdoor spaces

St Werburghs Community Centre has launched its Outdoor Spaces project to transform the outside spaces into a beautiful garden for everyone to use and enjoy. We are also planning to use the space for our Raking and Baking project: growing herbs, fruit and vegetables in raised beds and containers and learning how to cook from your own ingredients.

We are currently recruiting volunteers and encouraging donations to make the benches, flower beds and a sensory garden. We also would like to repair the fence all the way around the centre, repaint fascias, re-point brickwork and add notice boards to advertise all our projects, classes and events. An improved recycling area and a new secure bicycle parking finishes our wish list.

Our outdoors spaces project had a kick start with thanks to Teleperformance raising money to build benches and flower beds for the front garden of the centre. Teleperformance are a Global Contact Centre Company, with their UK Headquarters based in Stokes Croft, Bristol. They are dedicated to their internal ‘Citizens of the World’ initiative where over the years they have organised fundraising within the staff to help local, national and international charities and causes.

This year the Bristol site has decided to go ‘local’ and have chosen St Werburghs Community Centre as one of their beneficiaries. In this way the volunteer team from Teleperformance could take part in improving the life of their local community, allowing all at the site who contributed financially knowledge of where their money has been spent.

'We thoroughly enjoyed the day; it really gave us the Community Spirit we were looking for. We all felt a great sense of achievement helping the Community Centre and were grateful to all those at our site that contributed financially towards this project’ said Laura Milsom, Senior Operations Manager

They provided us with flower beds, hanging baskets, a table and seating area centred around the war memorial. This is a great beginning to our multi-sensory garden which will emphasize smell, touch and taste, with medicinal herbs and wildflowers.

We are eager to find more sponsors and volunteers to help us with various elements of the Outdoor Spaces project. If you would find this interesting or have any questions please get in touch. Contact: Goska Ong, Centre Manager at St Werburghs Community Centre on 0117 955 1351 or e-mail office@stwerburghs.org.uk

May 2011

Following our proposals to improve the outdoor areas of the Community Centre, our first step was to raise money towards funding our ideas. After a successful Ceilidh party we were able to raise over £900.00 which we are currently using towards applications for match-funding.
Anamika, a professional artist from India made the first visible changes to the outdoor spaces by creating an artwork near the entrance to the Centre and by the memorial ground. As you approach the main door of the centre you will see a floral motif which goes along the path and towards the memorial. The main artwork is a “Tree of Life”. Flora designs play a role in Indian culture; however the concept of the “Tree of Life” is symbolic in many cultures and has many representations in relation to life and creation.
Anamika used wet-pour surfacing (a type of tarmac used in road markings) in a variety of colours to create a mural on the floor. The coloured surfacing was applied by cutting various shapes out from the material and bonding it to the concrete outside using intense heat from a blow-torch. The artwork is permanent and viewings have encouraged people to be reminded of the memorial situated at the Centre. The memorial remembers those from the area who died serving in the First World War.
We are currently in the process of having the railings repaired and planning notice-boards to be installed outside the building. Bulbs have been planted around the Centre and should be making an appearance in the next couple of weeks.
If you would like to get involved with our “Outdoor Spaces” project, please email office@stwerburghs.org.uk for more information.

New Community Bike Repair Workshop

Our very popular free bike repair workshops are have been suspended until further notice.
We hope to get future funding to bring it back.
So keep an eye out on our website and we will keep you updated.


We will be at Picnic in the Park on 4th September, so bring your bike along and join us.


For more information please contact Goska Ong on 0117 955 1351 or e-mail office@stwerburghs.org.uk
Funded by Cycling City

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