This was Laura's first ever GoodGym task, joining the welcoming Friends of Lesnes Abbey and Woods for their monthly conservation session.

Everyone met at the Chestnuts kiosk before heading into the woods with a wheelbarrow full of tools, ready to embark on a new project near The Clearing.

The team set about clearing a plot of land where 1,500 hazel saplings will eventually be planted. It's a big task, but once established, the hazel will be coppiced to provide a sustainable source of wood.

The project will not only recreate the way these woods would have been traditionally managed, but also encourage greater biodiversity by creating a more varied understory for insects, birds and other wildlife.

Well done, Laura – it’s great to have you in Team GoodGym Bexley! And we can't wait to help with this woodland transformation in coming sessions.

Discover Welling does a fantastic job helping to make the town a nicer place to live, and we were happy to lend a hand this evening, giving some TLC to the planters on the High Street and clearing leaves and litter from around the area.

While some of us tackled the prickly thistles that had taken hold in one of the flower beds, others blitzed the litter and gathered up fallen leaves.

Then it was time to get planting! Lots of daffodil bulbs were carefully dug in, ready to bring a lovely splash of yellow to the High Street next spring. 🌼

Once the tools were packed away, we enjoyed the tasty Jaffa Cake cookies that have been the talk of recent tasks. They certainly lived up to the hype! 🍪 Thank you, Alice!

Three of us then headed to the nearby pub for a bit of socialising and to round off a productive evening together. 🍻

A great evening of teamwork, gardening, tidying and community spirit.

Another Sunday, another junior parkrun for Peter, joining the volunteers' briefing before taking up his timekeeping duties.

Always time to enjoy a coffee too!

Yee-haw! 🤠

With a batch of Hospice Hoedown leaflets left over from our flyering in Bexley a couple of weeks ago, we headed out into the residential streets around Sidcup High Street to deliver the remainder.

It didn’t take long to get to the bottom of the pile, and hopefully our efforts will help drum up a few more bookings for the Hoedown! 🤠

Sunday morning in Avery Hill Park, and three GoodGymers arrived bright and early to help the Demelza Hospice team get ready for their first Rainbow Run.

Our job was to set up five colour stations, where later in the day other volunteers would be throwing clouds of coloured powder at the 400 runners and walkers taking part.

Each station needed a funnel of flags and bunting, so we got busy with hammers and sturdy stakes, battling against the baked-hard soil to get the flag poles firmly in place.

Walking between stations took us on a lap of the park with plenty of steps, and it was great to see each colourful setup take shape, flags flapping in the gentle breeze.

Just as we finished, the party music started and runners began arriving for what promised to be a fun event, raising much-needed funds to support Demelza’s children’s hospice services.

Peter is a regular hi-viz hero at Avery Hill parkrun, and today was no exception.

First up was holding the ‘Quiet Please’ paddle during the briefing, before taking on the important job of timekeeper and helping make sure everyone got their finishing time.

Helping at parkrun is a simple way to get involved in our local community and be part of an amazing Saturday morning event. If you’ve never volunteered before, why not give it a go? There are plenty of different roles to try!