Written by Beryl Pettitt, Volunteer.

There’s been great excitement at Flower Pod this month as the new composting loo nears completion! Flower Pod has been managing with just one toilet since the building was completed in 2012, so having an additional toilet will make life much easier for the volunteers, staff and clients.

The composting loo was funded by a grant of £3,700 from the Screwfix Foundation, which supports projects that will fix, repair, maintain and improve properties and community facilities for those in need throughout the UK.

A team of volunteers known jokingly as ‘the Bog Boys’, led by Mike Fryer, and including a former architect, a joiner and a bricklayer, has worked on the project since July 2020. True to Flower Pod’s principles, the building has been constructed where possible using recycled materials, including pallets, sheep’s wool, polystyrene boards, and faux stain glass for the windows. In time, the toilet will also provide compost for the Flower Pod garden. Mike said:

“There was a great team spirit amongst the seven volunteers, and it was amazing how we managed to find people with just the right skills when we needed them. Big thanks to Nick Borrett for designing the building, Mike Last for his bricky skills and Stephen Mills for his carpentry expertise, Not to mention Ned, Mark, Ian and Drew for all their hard work too. Despite working with masks on, and having to socially distance, there was a lot of toilet banter and laughter. It was a real life-line to some of us to have a project to work on during the pandemic.”

Flower Pod’s clients have also worked on the project, helping put in insulation, decorating it, and landscaping the area around it. They are currently organising a competition to name the loo!

If you are interested in volunteering your time at Flower Pod and Reach Learning Disability, please contact Reach’s Volunteer Manager Wayne by emailing Wayne.Wilmot@reachuk.org or call 01636 81906.