Glasgow Wood was the first member of the Community Wood Recycling network to be set up in Scotland. Founder Peter Lavelle was inspired by the model he saw in Brighton, and with the help of a diverse and broad-ranging team, Peter has built a thriving charity and social enterprise in a former shipyard on the banks of the Clyde, in the shadow of one of the famous Titan cranes.

Peter has now stepped back from the role of managing director, but reflects

“A great delight for me is always when we’re able to support a volunteer into employment, especially here at Glasgow Wood.

At the moment we have a number of staff who were previously volunteers, but I do have a soft spot for Helen, who volunteered and then worked with us a number of years ago. What made this special was the fact she became Glasgow Wood’s very first wood-working apprentice, made all the more special because our work can often be seen to be male dominated.”

As a charity and social enterprise, Glasgow Wood is committed to fostering a healthier and more sustainable population and planet.

The organisation enhances the wellbeing of its local community by offering valuable training and volunteering opportunities, addressing unemployment and social exclusion. The age-old craft of building with one’s hands proves to be a powerful tool for personal and social transformation.

Glasgow Wood also prioritises environmental health by reusing and rehousing timber, diverting vast amounts of this precious resource from landfill. Using reclaimed wood, the enterprise creates quality furniture and accessories, undertakes bespoke commissions, and delivers large-scale projects for homes, businesses, and social sector organisations.

When Cop 26 came to Glasgow, the social enterprise was asked to create planters to welcome the delegates, and after the event they took things further…

As Glasgow Wood explains in their blog:

Back in early May, the technology teacher of Hillhead High School came in looking for something to get his P7 students learning how to grow their own potatoes.

Using a little bit of ingenious thinking, Mr McMahon settled on some large planters originally made for the public areas at COP26, along with some long, thin ply wood boxes to help with building their outdoor space. Who knew this story could become such a great example of the circular economy in practice!

The large box planters from inside the Green Zone were kindly returned after COP26, and the long thin boxes came via Event Cycle, an organisation helping to bring circular economy practices to the events industry. These long ply wood boxes were collected from stage sets of the keynote & meeting rooms in the Blue Zone. So when Mr McMahon was in need of an affordable and sustainable solution for his P7 induction week project Glasgow Wood were happy to be of service!

The planters were too large to begin with, so the first step was for the students to break them down and use each segment as a separate planter, with additional wood purchased from Glasgow Wood used to make the bases. After that, the students added some colour to make each planter stand out.

Once painted, the planters just needed a suitable lining to hold the soil and they were ready to go. Some of them were even destined to be used for display boxes for stands at their Summer Fayre. The rest were stencilled with the name of each class to identify them.

Birch ply from the Youtube exhibitor stand at COP26 was also reused for a number of purposes, one of which was a request from Scottish Libraries, who needed a set of peg boards for a Lend and Mend hub, facilitating free access to equipment to repair, reuse, and up-cycle everyday items within local libraries.

Glasgow Wood used their CNC machine to create samples to make sure the look and function of the board was what the library needed. Once the specifics were agreed, they went into production. Here are the boards in use at the library:

We wholeheartedly support the Lend and Mend project and we’re glad they chose Glasgow Wood for their order. There are currently 11 hubs in operation across Scotland with a range of services, so if you live nearby and have a broken item in need of fixing but don’t have the tools, remember that libraries aren’t just for books.

 

My name is Merle Collett, and I’m a Yard and Warehouse Assistant at Glasgow Wood. I originally joined in 2017 where I volunteered in the workshop.

I first signed up at to volunteer at Glasgow Wood through Project Scotland. I really liked the sound of the organisation and the ethos behind it. At first, I was in the office, but I was given the opportunity to go into the workshop, which was great. I enjoyed that a lot – I learned a lot about woodworking and it helped with my confidence. I felt really supported as a volunteer.

When I was in the workshop I was mostly helping to make the bespoke stuff. So furniture made to order such as bookshelves and units. Learning in the workshop is a really great experience. There’s so much wealth of knowledge that’s passed on in a really genuine way.

New Role

I heard about the Community Jobs Scotland opening through Glasgow Wood. A job had felt quite in the distance for me – because of my health. But this role seemed really perfect because it was 16 hours. I was volunteering 2 days a week here anyway so I felt capable of that. It was something that I wanted to do and felt confident within. The job is great because the CJS jobs are specifically set up for people that are in my sort of position.

Within the job, I’m working in the bays, which are mainly used for storage. I’m organising the wood: drying it, sorting it – it’s all the ‘pre’ stuff – before it reaches the workshop.

Achievements

I’ve learned loads of skills in my time here. Practically – in the workshop with woodworking – but also social skills, being a part of a team & working with other people in collaborative ways. I’ve also passed the forklift driving training course. Learning useful skills to feel a valuable part of something – I think that’s a big achievement!

Community

I think there’s a strong sense of community and, almost, family here. People are working together for shared goals. And I think the practical thing of ‘selling stuff’, works really well because people are here for a purpose.

I think there’s space for lots of different people to be here. It feels valuable just to be an individual that might have different skills and different understandings of things. So I guess I’ve made a difference at Glasgow Wood just by being myself!

If you’re near Glasgow and interested in buying wood or products, volunteering, or just seeing what the project is all about, Glasgow Wood is well worth a visit. They have a great selection of products with an online store, and are also happy to take on bespoke work including office and shop fittings.