The Hearth - Southport

24/06/2026

🌿 And just like that — six sessions of Roots for Wellbeing are complete. What a journey. 🌿
Our final session was exactly as it should be — hammocks in the breeze, wooden spoons being carved, cool woodland shade and s'mores melted in solar ovens made by the young people themselves ☀️🍫
Over six Monday mornings at Ainsdale Sand Dunes our young people have become:
🌿 Hammock experts

🪚 Confident tool users

🏕️ Shelter builders and Nordic Slingers

🪢 Friendship bracelet makers
And the bit that made our hearts sing the most? Hearing that they've gone home and taught their parents and siblings everything they've learned. Shelters being built in back gardens. Friendship bracelets being made at kitchen tables. The forest coming home with them.
They leave with skills, friendships, confidence and a wonderful sense of community. We couldn't be prouder.
Thank you to the brilliant 🦌 for bringing this programme to life with such skill and care, and to 💚 for making it possible through the Southport Recovery Youth Programme Fund.
Watch this space — we're not done yet 👀🌿

22/06/2026

Sometimes the heart of a community gathering is a quiet thing — a plate of scones baked the day before, a young person in a uniform smiling and saying hello, a small set of hands carefully planting a seed.
A huge thank you to the Girl Guides who joined us at the Great Big Green Lunch. They turned up smartly in uniform and ready to get involved. They brought cakes and scones they had baked themselves to share at the bring-a-dish tables. They were friendly and chatty with attendees of all ages throughout the day, drawing out conversation and warmth wherever they went. And they threw themselves into the nature table — planting, crafting, making, getting their hands lovely and muddy.
These are exactly the kind of intergenerational moment that makes a community feel alive. Older people sat next to younger people. Younger children learning by doing alongside slightly older girls. Everyone made each other feel welcome.
Thank you to 14th Southport Guides — and thank you to Lynn their leader for bringing them.

18/06/2026

Something new is coming to Southport 🧵✨
This week, we were proud to be part of the MRWA Zero Waste Community Fund launch at the Gillmoss Recycling Discovery Centre, alongside other community projects from across the Liverpool City Region.
We’re really pleased to share that Swish & Stitch — Southport has received funding through the Merseyside Recycling & Waste Authority (MRWA) / Veolia Zero Waste Community Fund 2026–27.
Swish & Stitch is all about something simple:
→ helping people love their clothes for longer
Over the coming months, we’ll be creating:
🧵 hands-on sewing and repair sessions
👗 welcoming clothes swap events at Southport Market(with Enhance Events)
🌱 simple ways to care for and reuse what we already own
At its heart, this project is about:

learning new skills
building confidence
meeting people
and doing something positive together

We’re really excited to get started — and we’ll be sharing ways to get involved very soon.

🙏 Huge thanks to Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority and Zero Waste LCR for supporting this work.

16/06/2026

🌿 Session 5 of Roots for Wellbeing and today was all about tools 🪚✨
Whittling, sawing and drilling — our young people got hands-on and created some brilliant results. Wooden bugs, sharp sticks with patterned handles and some seriously impressive craft skills on show 👏
In our forest group today everyone got their very own hammock 🌿 and honestly? The vibe was absolutely chilled 😌
One final session to go. What a journey it's been.
Delivered by the brilliant 🦌 | Funded by 💚

16/06/2026

A child arrives at a community lunch. They are handed a plate. They sit at a long table. Someone smiles. Someone passes them a bowl of food. Someone starts to sing. Someone shows them how to plant a seed. They are not entertained, not managed, not separate. They are simply here. Part of it.
This is what we mean when we say Southport becoming greener.
It isn't only about bins and recycling. It is also about the harmonious gatherings we create — loving, kind, welcoming — and the example we set for our children when we come together. Free. Family-friendly. Alcohol-free. Low-waste. Full of shared food, good energy, music, dance, conversation, and play.
Because when children grow up feeling part of a community like this, they grow up feeling safe. They grow up feeling loved. They grow up knowing they belong to something bigger than themselves.
From all of us at The Hearth Network — thank you to everyone, of every age, who came to the Great Big Green Lunch and helped make it the day it was.

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10/06/2026

🌿 Session 4 of Roots for Wellbeing and this week our young people took on their biggest challenge yet — building their own waterproof dens and testing them with water squirters! 💦
Did they stay dry? We'll never tell 😄
After all that building we put up the hammocks and had lunch in the shade of the trees 🌳 — then discovered a group of ground nesting bees nearby 🐝 which led perfectly into making friendship bracelets the Forest School way.
Nature, teamwork, creativity and lunch al fresco.
Delivered by the brilliant 🦌 | Funded by 💚

09/06/2026

09/06/2026

As we continue to reflect on the Great Big Green Lunch, it feels really important to take a moment to say thank you - because this day was built by so many generous hands and kind hearts.

We’re so grateful to EFT Group Ltd for stepping in to print our banners and posters, and for sponsoring the children’s seed planting station - such a simple, joyful activity that really captured the spirit of the day.
Thank you to Fletchers Solicitors for donating £100 in garden centre vouchers for the raffle, helping people take a little piece of the day home with them.
A big thank you to The Old Bakehouse Coffee Shop for the beautiful vegetarian sandwiches - delivered in an electric car powered by solar panels, which felt perfectly in keeping with everything the event is about. These were made possible through a microgrant from The Jo Cox Foundation, whose support we’re incredibly thankful for.
To Kasturi Indian Restaurant, your donation of 150 samosas was just amazing - they brought so much warmth and were enjoyed by so many.
Gang of Elk, thank you for giving your time and materials to create such a brilliant crafting space for children - it was full of creativity and joy from start to finish.
We’re also so thankful to Southport Market for letting us use such a fantastic space, and to Tracy Holgate and Sarah Townley from Sefton Tourism for their support every step of the way.
And finally, to all the volunteers - whether you were washing up, serving food, welcoming people in or simply stopping for a chat - you made the day feel what it was: open, warm and connected.

08/06/2026

We feel so incredibly grateful for yesterday - not just for the food but for all the people who made it so special 💚

A heartfelt thank you to our wonderful guests of honour, Patrick Hurley MP, Mayor of Sefton Cllr Jen Corcoran, Tracey Robbins from Eden Project Communities, Imam Ibrahim from Southport Mosque, and Karen Egleton, Co-op Member Activator. It meant so much to have you all with us, sharing in the day and celebrating what community truly looks like.

To see so many people gathered together - different backgrounds, shared values, open hearts - was something really powerful, and having you there alongside us made it all the more meaningful.

Thank you for standing with us and for supporting something that brings people together in such a simple, beautiful way 🌿✨