You may of heard of ‘Men’s Shed’ and even the recent addition of ‘Women’s Shed’, but have you heard of ‘ShedFest?’
This annual event is a National celebration of ‘all things shed’ and recently took place in Worcester, attended by representatives from all over the country.
Our Better Together Norfolk Men’s Shed Network Facilitator, Jonny Wood, was invited to participate in the panel discussion.
“It was quite nerve-wracking to start with” says Jonny, “especially as, unlike when doing a Powerpoint or similar presentation, there was no script and no advance knowledge of the questions! However, the number of Sheds we now have in Norfolk has given rise to a wide range of challenges and problems to solve, so most things that people brought up in connection with their Shed have usually happened before in some form.”
Norfolk now has more ‘Sheds’ than London!
2024 has proved to be one of the busiest times for Shed development locally. There are now 30 Sheds’ across Norfolk.
In addition to organising the Network Steering Group for Norfolk, Jonny supports the development of new sheds, provides support for existing sheds and works with the wider community to raise awareness about the benefits of a Shed.
“It was great to have Jonny participate at ShedFest 24 as part of our panel discussion for Shed Leaders’” said Rachel Meadows, Volunteer and Community Development Manager for UKMSA. “Jonny joined Patrick Abrahams and John Latchford from the UKMSA to discuss the topic of supporting people to step up to Shed Leadership roles, and barriers preventing people from doing so. Jonny’s vast experience of working with Sheds in the Norfolk and Suffolk area brought a lot of helpful points, ideas and insight to the discourse, sharing valuable examples from Sheds on the ground.”
This year ShedFest saw the most attendees to date. It was great to be part of this annual event and continue to play a prominent role in shaping the successful future of Sheds locally.
If you’re intrigued to find out more about a Shed locally, the benefits of attending or how to contact Jonny for advice and support, click here!
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