A wonderful light evening, sunshine and a brand new project to help - It must be a goodgym Tuesday.

Tonight was our first visit to Grow Cardiff's newest project at Grange Medical Centre, the space that they have been given is very large with great potential......We will certainly be having a return trip here. Grow Cardiff have been going since June 2015, and have some really inspiring community gardens set up around the city.

Their mission is to inspire people to use community gardening not only to grow fantastic vegetables, herbs, trees and flowers, but through this to build caring and inclusive communities where everyone can thrive.

With such goals, goodgym are a great group to get involved and help.

It was a shorter run than usual, but with so much to do the added volunteering time was useful. Our jobs for the evening were,

• remove the layer of manure from the garden and move it to the compost heap
• build a compost heap
• remove all grass and weeds from the seating and pathways
• litter pick
• lay cardboard and woodchip on pathways

We had nice new gloves ready to wear and all the tools needed for the jobs, so it was straight to work. We got to meet a few of the locals who were also going to get involved with the project, nice to see the project already gaining volunteers. After 40 minutes of shovelling, wheelbarrow moving, pulling of plants and laying of woodchip it was time to step back and see the results of our efforts. There was a very visible difference to the plot today, and a great feeling of satisfaction.

Thanks to all, Grow Cardiff for task and you lovely volunteers to help spread the goodgym joy.

Get signed up for the next task here, as we get our painting task on again

On a rainy, windy end to April a brave 3 goodgymers got together to help out the Forget me Not group. We had an emergency call out on Sunday from the organiser, asking if we could get together and help to clear up twigs and branches that had fallen and to weed the pathways between the raised beds. The pesky plants had made their home in the pathways, which was stopping the group members from being able to get in and use the raised beds.

We welcomed back to the group Cara for their second task, good to see you back with us. We had some wonderful new gloves and a brush tonight, and got straight to work. Dylan got to work brushing the pathways around the Church, helping to make it look clean in time for the local elections, before joining the rest in removing the unwanted plants.

There was some bindweed around one of the fruit trees which needed some careful attention, the path was weeded by simply pulling up the plants - it was a woodchip path so nice and easy to clear. And finally, some brambles were cleared from the edge, before they encroached too far.

30 minutes and were done, the "Forget me Not" gone

Another lovely day in Cardiff as 10 volunteers got together to Get Active and Do Good.

Tonight, we had 7 runners from our start location, 1 cyclist and 2 walkers. It was a lovely evening to be out and about helping, and we had a celebration too.

Jonathan hit a milestone as we celebrated 50 good deeds.

Big Congratulations

As always, we arrived at Samye to smiles and a table of water, just what you want after a lovely run. We had a quick chat whilst rehydrating and catching our breath. Then it was time to get busy and help, there was a list of tasks and a group of willing volunteers - the perfect combination.

They had been very busy indeed since our last visit to Samye and were part way through a build of what will be a lovely pond. They had broken through the brick, rubble and dug down, piling it all around the sides. Still tome to do in the middle, which we could also help with if there was time, but for now the most important thing was to help, tidy up and move those heavy bags. After all, many hands make light work.

Our tasks for the evening.

• Put all the rubble into sacks
• Move around to the side of the building
• Vacuum hall, stairs and office in building 252
• Sweep up around the pond
• Sand the wall around the new fire door

It was all go, Dylan went straight to his friend HENRY to clean up that building. Imy and Natasha got their sand on, shimmying and shaking around the door frame. The rest of us, well it was manic - spades moving rubble and soil into sacks, people carrying bricks, moving bags once full....a little more of the pond was also dug out. After 30 minutes of good old hard work, the pond was looking good, and we had certainly "Done GOOD".

We popped inside for a bit of a social and a little soup, before heading back to the city.

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With lighter evenings for our runs it's finally starting to feel like Spring time.

Tonight, we returned to Cwtch Together to help once more...It was time for a wipe down and clean up inside the hall to get those grubby marks from the radiators, doors and walls wherever possible. Inside were our task organiser, Sarah along with Imy, Lucy and Benjamin, whilst outside were Darren, Andrew and Dylan sweeping and weeding down the side of the hall. Finally, around the back and battling the carpet of nettles were Lucy, Su, Dylan and Jonathan.

It was all go against those pesky nettles as the group were hard at work with secatuers, loppers and shears, then rakes and spades were the tools of choice. Wait.......is it time?

Learning Time

Urtica dioica L., also known as stinging nettle, is a perennial plant. It is a plant that’s edible and has nutritional and medicinal properties. Young leaves can be used to make curries, herb soups, and sour soups. The root of the stinging nettle is used to treat mictional difficulties associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia, while the leaves are used to treat arthritis, rheumatism, and allergic rhinitis. Its leaves are abundant in fiber, minerals, vitamins, and antioxidant compounds like polyphenols and carotenoids, as well as antioxidant compounds like polyphenols and carotenoids. Stinging nettle has antiproliferative, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, analgesic, anti-infectious, hypotensive, and antiulcer characteristics, as well as the ability to prevent cardiovascular disease, in all parts of the plant (leaves, stems, roots, and seeds). Stinging nettle improves fish reproductive performance, making it a cost-effective aquaculture plant. Fertilizer and insecticides can be made from the plants.

So maybe it's time to rethink the classic "stinging nettle".

See you all next week - get signed up - here

Tonight was a special run in Cardiff, as we celebrated Darren on his very special

200th Task

This can mean only ONE thing, it's time for the CAPE

We had our usual mix of groups tonight, with some walkers and joggers and a couple running like the wind - that's the power of the cape! We were heading out to help at the Samye foundation again, and as usual they had prepared a list for us.

• Move a plinth from the hall to the shed
• Move containers from the office into the attic
• Change the posters in the display cabinets
• Vacuum building 252 with good ol' Henry
• Wash the ground floor outside windows and ledges
• Put out all rubbish and recycling.

Thankfully there was a good number of us tonight, as 13 volunteers got active and cleared the list of tasks in good time. Dylan and Henry became great friends as the floor and stairs were spotless. Darren and Andrew vanished into the attic along with the containers. Imy and Natasha got artistic with the poster displays - looking great. Emma, Aimee and Ellen moved the plinth in the blink of an eye. Lucy cleaned the mirror until you could see your face in it......wait, hold on a minute???? And then it was all hands to the windows, and ledges, Su, Martin, Llion and anyone else that was free joined to get rid of those smears...Ready for some filming I believe.

We even had time for an additional task as Darren donning his cape, mopped the hall until it was sparkling clean. We got together for some soup and soon to follow on the run - soup stitch. A great evening had by all, thanks you wonderful lot.