Woodchucks - Chopping Wood for Good

January 2026
I believe it was in 2016 when a hardworking lady named Naomi organized volunteers from our church, Invercargill Central Baptist Church. Her idea was to contact local businesses to donate old wooden pallets, which would then be cut up by volunteers. The wood would be piled up and donated to needy families, widows, and others in the community.

A trailer was borrowed from one of the volunteers, whom Naomi later asked to co-lead the team. In his own time, he even added high sides to his trailer, allowing two loads to be delivered at once. As the two leaders coordinated efforts, they reached out to social service groups in Invercargill, including the Salvation Army, Jubilee Budgeting Advice, and others, to get the names and addresses of individuals and families genuinely in need.

Men and women were equally welcome to attend every second Saturday morning. While the majority of volunteers came from our church, some students from SIT also came along to lend a hand. A lovely welcome morning tea was always provided.

I myself attended the very first working bee back in 2017 and very rarely missed a Saturday morning session. Our group was named "Woodchucks."

Trailer loads of chopped wood from the pallets were delivered on Saturday mornings. We only ran "Woodchucks" during the winter. While some volunteers delivered the wood, others were chainsawing, lifting, stacking, shifting, and heaving around the very heavy pallets. The wood was chainsawed off and carried or thrown into large bins inside a shed that was kindly provided, free of charge, by a local farmer. It was always very heavy work — I always went home with bruises and scrapes from lifting the pallets and helping the men with the chainsawing.

At times, it's been hard to get enough volunteers. More — especially younger ones — are currently needed. The average age of volunteers is around 50 to 60 years old, with two dedicated members, now in their 80s, who have been at every session since the beginning in 2017!

It’s been a wonderful time of fellowship and networking during the working bees — always good-natured and cohesive. It’s been amazing to be a long-term member of "Woodchucks".