We held a wide range of different types of event, in order to appeal to all residents. We also tried to make as many events as accessible and inclusive as possible. These events included:

• A wide range of consultation events
• A wide range of informal and more formal training events
• Film screenings (see section above for tips on how to put on your own)
• Office warming meal – to get people involved in a more informal way and to promote the newly refurbished tenants and residents office as a good place to host events.

“There’s been a marked increase in activities going on, like every time you get home there’s a new thing written on the door telling you what’s going on”
Matt, resident

Our Tips for Events

Having fun at the Offshoots Pemaculture centre in Burnley. We tried to make our trips and events as open to all ages as possible.

The key to making our events successful was promotion  and planning. We made sure that we promoted events as much in advance as we could, and made the promotion materials as attractive as possible. Wherever we could, we promoted it online, and with posters in  every block. We also made sure that we planned events to be at times that as many people could attend as  possible.

The events that worked best were the informal events that were very well promoted, and that we made relevant to as many people as possible. The best example of this was the mapping event at the start of the project. It was very relaxed and open, and easy to see what was happening – you could turn up halfway through and get stuck in. We promoted this well in advance, and it appealed to all residents as we marketed it as “tell us what you think of your estate, and what you would like to see in the future‟. We had more than one activity going on, and cake and biscuits, and there was lots of chatting.

We tried to recreate this style of event whenever we could. We definitely found that providing food, a buffet, snacks, or cake and biscuits, was another good way to encourage people to attend.

“I saw lots more activity, saw people getting involved, and really good workdays, I’ve got a balcony looking over on Leaf Street so I’ve seen it’s looking really good and saw some really nice projects going on” Stefan, resident