Run by a steering group of local residents supported by The Super Slow Way and local partners The Ripple Effect aims to create new community spaces along the canal stretch through Nelson for people to come together, get to know one another and enjoy different activities.
Over the past 18 months we’ve run a a range activities in Nelson including canoeing and water sports, led walks, growing and planting and creative workshops and tried out a variety of spaces including Nelson Library, The Good Life and Lomeshaye Park.
For the summer of 2024 we’ll be focusing activity on Lomeshaye Park and an area we’ve named ‘The Bowl’ a short walk along the canal. We’re very excited that our new ‘pop up space’ which has been designed in collaboration with the steering group, students from Marsden Heights and UCLan school of architecture will be installed in Lomeshaye Park later in April and from there we plan to run a pop up cafe, bike workshops and creative activities. More information below!
You can get involved by joining our facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/rippleeffectnelson
or contact either ben@superslowway.org.uk or uzma@superslowway.org.uk
Also see the What’s On page for upcoming activities.
Pop up space
Over the last few months we’ve been working with on the development of our new community pop-up space with the steering group, students from Marsden Heights alongside staff and UCLan School of Architecture to create a flexible space to run community events from in Lomeshaye Park.
The project started last summer when we tested the potential for some temporary wooden structures with the community at Lomeshaye Park and the ’Bowl’ site in Nelson. The structures are now well underway and close to completion (see the pictures above) due to be installed this April Nelson, so keep an eye on our social media for our celebration launch and summer programme!
Pop up cafe
From the new structure we’ll be running a regular pop up cafe and are currently looking for for anyone local who’d like to use the pop-up space to test out running their own cafe or takeaway business for a day or weekend over the summer supported by our experienced food co-ordinator. Whether you’re a local food business keen to test out a new space, an experienced home cook eager for more people to taste your food, an up and coming or aspirational street food vendor, or anything in between! We are keen to showcase local produce and food heritage and help us test out what a healthy sustainable food economy looks like. Read more here and get in touch if you’d like to get involved.
Canoeing and Creativity
Over the summer our popular canoeing sessions will start again from Morrisons Wharf and we’ll also have a programme of create workshops – keep an eye on the facebook page for dates.
‘The highlight has to be the people coming together with a vision and determination to make a difference for the local community. It’s the positivity, friendship and the opportunity to try out new skills that the workshops offer for everyone and anyone who wants to take part.’
The Ripple Effect forms part of a range of projects taking place in Pendle over the next few years as part of This is Nelson, the cultural strand of the Nelson Town Deal funding.
