We have a quite a few dates in the diary this month that might be of interest and an update from last month’s Story Day, so here goes…

Story Day

Thank you to all who allowed their stories to be shared and to those who were able to come along to listen, learn and share in the ‘story telling for evaluation’ method on the day.

You can listen to some of the stories from the Movers & Shakers Community Fund here Tales from Movers, Shakers and Community Makers

Story Telling For Evaluation

The “Story Telling for Evaluation” session was facilitated gently by Chris Hayes from Live Projects.

Storytelling is a qualitative evaluation approach inspired by the Most Significant Change (MSC) technique. It involves collecting stories from people about their experiences, and then bringing people together to discuss the stories and what we can learn from them. You can download the slides from the day here

Chris shared some really useful resources for anyone interested in learning more:

Webinar: Most Significant Change - YouTube

Intro to Storytelling Evaluation Method | Old Fire Station, Oxford

Feedback from the day included:

• an acknowledgement of joy felt from the simple act of making time to share our stories and be really listened to

• the space this allowed for ‘processing out loud’ and unearthing new realisations or strengthening existing ideas

• the desire to weave this practice through more of the work that we do, including informal peer to peer story sharing at future meet-ups and trying out the Story Telling Evaluation method as part of a small pilot this year.

That brings us nicely on to or Jun events….

Co-Working Days - Weds 10th June - 10-5pm @ Amber Mill

This Wednesday we have our monthly shared working day at Amber Mill in Oakerthorpe, drop in from 10am-5pm “Mill Days” - Co-Working at Amber Mill.

Join us to work independently, collaboratively, creatively, or take some time to read, craft, share food or enjoy a local stroll (in the rain 🌧️).

For anyone curious they’ll be the opportunity to keep the conversations and connections going following on from the Imagination and Story training days that happened in April and May.

Last month the ‘What if..’ statements that were generated during the Imagination day were lovingly sorted into themed groups ready to spark further chats and actions.

Do any particular categories draw you in?

From 2-4pm this month we will host a chat about the potential of trying out the Story Telling Evaluation method as part of a small pilot this year. Pop-in for an hour or stay all day. Everyone welcome.

Monthly Meet-up - 17th June 5-8pm @ Grow Outside Community Garden

Next Wednesday we have the first of our outdoor Summer Meet-Ups. A chance to explore a local outdoor community venue, chat to like-minded people, share ideas and have a cuppa.

For our June meet-up we will have the opportunity to spend some time in the beautiful surrounds of Grow Outside CIC

Meet-Up @ Grow Outside Wednesday, June 17 • 5 PM - 8 PM.

This is the first of three Summer Evening Sessions, where will be taking advantage of the longer evenings to host our meet ups outdoors in local community venues, and hopefully have a chat with the local legends behind each venue.

From 5-6:30pm there will be time to just enjoy being in the space. Have a wander or take a seat and soak up the vibes. For those who are interested in trying some partnered story sharing there will be space to have a go. Bring a picnic tea, a sketch pad, a book to read, or just have a natter.

From 6:30-8pm we’ll have more of a group check-in and chat, for peers to share ideas, ask questions, and offer support in relation to local community project work and creative imaginings.

Although these meet-ups were created to support and connect individuals who have received Movers and Shakers Community Funding, they are open to anyone who is working in a similar way to create positive change in their neighbourhoods across Amber Valley. There is an open invitation to share ideas, exchange tips, or offer and receive support. We look forward to seeing you there.

Summer Sharing Supper - Tues 23rd June @ Amber Mill

On Tuesday 23rd June we are hosting our Summer Sharing Supper, Tuesday, June 23 • 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM at Amber Mill in Oakerthorpe.

Sharing Suppers are a chance to come together with people from across Amber Valley and beyond to share and learn. Come along to hear from people working to nurture the conditions, relationships and capacities for long term, community powered creativity where they live. Then dive into conversations with your neighbours about what might be possible here.

Summer Theme: Following The Magic: The ups, downs and positive confusions of working alongside communities without a set plan.

We we’ll be joined by Tina Redford, former Director of LeftCoast Blackpool to share more about the story of “Wash Your Words” a Community owned Library and Laundry Room that has taken over an empty shop space. Testing community ownership model and exploring how we can share facilities as neighbours for both environmental and economic benefit. Find out more about the project here Wash Your Words: Langdale Library & Laundry Room - LeftCoast.

Keep in touch

As always please do get in touch if you have any questions or feedback, or just want to say hi!

And we are happy to help arrange transport options if this makes events more accessible to you, and do let us know of any other accessibility needs or dietary requirements.

We are looking forward to continuing lots of great conversations and growing ideas together over the summer months.

Lizzie

April is feeling like a ‘happening’ sort of month... lots of activity starting to emerge and project ideas beginning to take shape.

Our emails and Instagram feed have shown us sneak peeks of allotments being dug, seeds being planted, colourful whisps of silk being joyfully felted, tweens doing crafts, open mic nights being set-up. And from our side we have a Story Day, Mill Days, Meet-Ups and more coming up…

A huge thank you to those who were able to join us last Wednesday for our How to Fall in Love with the Future day facilitated by author Rob Hopkins. It was great to see a local network of community creatives and change makers gathering together in such a hopeful way. We will share back some of the magic and keep the ideas and conversations flowing into the summer and beyond. A few photos from the photos here. And you can check out this beautiful film by local film maker John Felix below.

Our April Meet-Up would have also been last Wednesday, but we opted not to add it on to what was already a very full day. If anyone does have project related questions, issues, or ideas they would like to explore with us:

• Drop us an email

• Chat to other Movers and Shakers on the WhatsApp groups: https://chat.whatsapp.com/K74y808ln7QJsGFM4SRxLn

• Come along to one of our summer meet-ups (more details below)

Wednesday 20th May is our Story Day, running from 2-8pm.

Everyone is invited to join us for an introduction to storytelling for evaluation, exploring how stories can help to understand the difference you are making and support learning.

We intend this to be a real chance to pause and celebrate the impact of the varied and vibrant community activity you have all helped to initiate. It will be great to see Movers and Shakers from all three rounds (33 people!) as well as our Community Panel Members. If you are part of Round 3 and haven’t made a start yet, do not worry, come along for some inspiration, and share the story of what inspired you to apply.

The first part of the day 2-5pm, will be delivered by Chris Hayes and will be a chance to share stories in pairs and small groups to enable us to collectively notice all the incredible changes that are being made through the Moving, Shaking, and Community Panel Decision Making.

There will be chance for food and chat 5-6:30pm, and then some more story exploring and reflecting 6:30-8pm.

We are hoping to use story gathering to inform our evaluation work going forward and would love these stories to be gathered and told by people in the community. With this in mind, there will be paid opportunities for a number of interested individuals to carry out further training and story gathering off the back of this Story Day.

Come along for the whole thing or join us for either the afternoon session (2-5pm) or evening meet-up (6.30-8pm) with time in between for more informal conversations over food.

• Weds 20th May, 2-8pm, Infinite Wellbeing Community Centre. Book a place here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1987612119354?aff=oddtdtcreator

Summer Meet-ups

Over the summer months we have planned some slightly extended Movers and Shakers Summer Sessions. We hope to take advantage of the longer evenings to host our meet-ups outdoors in local community venues, and hopefully have a chat with the local legends behind each venue. From 5-6:30pm there will be time to just enjoy being in the space. Have a wander or take a seat and soak up the vibes. Maybe bring a picnic tea, a sketch pad, a book to read, or have a natter. From 6:30-8pm we’ll have more of a group check-in and chat, for peers to share ideas, ask questions, and offer support in relation to local community project work and creative imaginings. These are all now on our Eventbrite if you wish to book a space.

Monthly on Wednesdays 5-8pm

• 17th June - Grow Outside
  https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1987821111455?aff=oddtdtcreator

• 15th July - Shining Cliff Woods

  https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1987840304863?aff=oddtdtcreator

• 19th August - Craft Wood

  https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1987870508202?aff=oddtdtcreator

Co-Working Days

There will also be shared working days at Amber Mill in Oakerthorpe, usually on the 2nd Wednesday of each month, more details of these will be available soon.

Keep in touch

As usual, any questions or suggestion please do get in touch on lizzie@wearemakeshift.uk

March has arrived, bringing with it some heavy clouds and global conflicts. It feels like this makes the acts of noticing the lighter moments of warmth and the promises of new growth all the more essential for the soul. With that in mind, we have a few opportunities on the horizon that invite togetherness, encourage a collective dreaming of new possibilities, and offer a chance to celebrate the significant positive changes we are able to make locally, in both the near and more distant future.

Shared working day — 11th March 10–5pm

On Wednesday 11th March we have our first shared working day at Amber Mill. The team will be at the mill in Oakerthorpe from 10am-5pm with tea and coffee, some small snacks, and possibly some interesting books. There are some loose themes of network weaving and future planning up for discussion.

Join us to work independently, collaboratively, creatively, or take some time to read, craft, share food or enjoy a local stroll. This Month is a bit of an experiment, and we are open to feedback and inspiration going forward as to how we can best make the time and space work well for all.

Venue: AMFREC — Amber Mill Furniture Rural Enterprise Centre
(Bring your own lunch, heating facilities (toaster, microwave, oven, hob) are available if needed).

“How To Fall In Love With The Future” Training — 15th April 9.30–5pm

On Wednesday April 15th we are hosting a ‘How to fall in love with the future’ workshop with author Rob Hopkins. Rob is known for helping to unlock creativity, courage and playfulness in the face of big challenges. We’re inviting friends and collaborators from across Amber Valley who’ve been taking action, sharing ideas, sparking creativity and nurturing connection in the places they care about as part of Make/Shift. Alongside some curious allies and supporters from Derby and Derbyshire. As we move into a new phase of our work with Make/Shift we’re excited to bring people together and stretch our collective imaginations into the future.

If you’re curious about how we can fall back in love with the future of the places we live get in touch hello@wearemakeshift.uk

Movers & Shakers Story Day — 20th May

Wednesday May 20th is our story day for the whole of the Movers and Shakers community. A chance to share stories of all the projects and journeys that have made up the three rounds of this community fund, as well as explore the learning experiences of the different panel members who have worked together over the past 18 months to learn, design and make decision about the fund. Look out for a booking link soon.

Monthly Meet-ups — 18th March 6.30–8pm

Our next Movers and Shakers Meet-up is on 18th

March, from 6:30 to 8 PM. It will be Ian’s final meet up in his current role with Make/Shift, so we hope to celebrate his contributions with lots of tea and cake.

Thank you to those of you who joined us for the February meet-up. We had a cosy evening at Infinite Wellbeing Community Centre in Heanor. A friendly welcome included hot drinks and dreamy tray bake cakes, the old-school cornflake tart was very popular. We enjoyed a gentle check-in, and some deeper chats about the freedom of the term ‘mucking around’ in the context of an open ended creative session, and dipped our toes into the the waters of the BIG question… ‘what IS culture?’. This later question arose due to the current intention for Heanor, Ripley, and Alfreton town councils to enter a joint expression of interest for the Town of Culture programme. There was a joy in joining the dots of creative activity across these borders and finding common threads to unite in times of uncertainty. We look forward to continuing the conversation over the coming months. A huge thanks to Daisy, Abi, and Rebecca from Infinite Wellbeing for their generosity, guided tour of the venue, and back story of the work they do, including how and why they do it. Daisy was just about to start her Tweens Creative group, we hope that is going well. Abi also shared an update on replicating some of her popular craft groups in a new location, Ripley, and how well that is being received.

If you’re interested in getting involved or finding out more about what we’re up to as part of Make/Shift.

• Come along to one of our monthly meet-ups

• Drop me an email: Lizzie@wearemakeshift.uk