The community shed has had its finishing touches, thanks to Peter A, Peter M and Brian. Read about the earlier stages of building the shed here and in links to other stories you will find on that page. The shed is watertight, most of the painting has been done, and we have a full set of gutters and a pair of waterbutts thanks to donations from Thames Water and from local building firm Bansal. 

The waterbutts are filling up nicely – help yourself to water with a watering can when you pass!

This winter we want everyone to set up water butts to collect water when it rains, especially those with a shed. There will be some tanks spare once we've put in the new ones, or you can get a water butt at a discount from Thames Water by calling 0845 658 0055, or find out more on their website . Or just improvise.

Water is a precious reserve, and we all want to save as much as possible. It will help keep our water bill down, but it’s also good for the environment. And rainwater is very good for your plants. We’ve made water conservation one of the criteria in our branch gardening competition, including saving water, using mulches to keep the soil moist (help yourself to the new council compost in the car park), and avoiding excessive watering which makes the soil crack. Read about the branch competition here . Get advice on saving water here, from Thames Water: Water Wise advice, WaterWise gardens, WaterWise kids, with quizzes and fun

Lots of you have already got waterbutts or tanks – here are some examples. Let’s get them on all the sheds.