Seven GoodGymers headed to Days Lane Primary School for our very first task there — and we certainly picked a dramatic evening for it.

While the skies were busy putting on a total solar eclipse, we had our own transformation happening a little closer to ground level: turning the school fence a rather lovely sky blue.

Armed with brushes, paint and plenty of enthusiasm, the seven of us worked our way along the fence and made a pretty impressive dent in the job. There’s something very satisfying about seeing a tired-looking stretch of fence become brighter with every brushstroke — especially when you’ve got a whole team working together.

Sadly, unlike the eclipse, our fence transformation wasn’t quite total… 🌘 We ran out of evening before we ran out of fence.

Luckily, this is only the beginning of our partnership with Days Lane Primary School, and we’ll be back next week to finish the job.

A brilliant first task, a very blue fence, seven willing painters and one rather spectacular sky. Not bad for a Wednesday evening!

Over the summer we've made a couple of visits to Mr B to help tidy his garden. It had got out of control, and he wanted a hand bringing it back to a state where it would be easier for him to maintain.

Today’s focus was the wisteria, which was running rife over a trellis across the garden, and had even started sneaking next door over the neighbour’s fence.

Making the most of two hedge trimmers, and we worked on both sides at once to give everything a short back and sides. A second pass with the shears followed, getting it just the way Mr B wanted it.

Once all the cuttings were gathered up, we moved on to the plum tree, cutting back some of the lower branches and harvesting the plums that Mr B insisted we take home (as well as enjoying a few while we worked 😋!)

What a difference just an hour can make. 🌿🍑

We’ve really enjoyed our visits with Mr B, getting stuck in and hearing some of his brilliant stories.

Hopefully we’ve left the garden easier to manage, and Mr B can enjoy working on it in his own time.

There were two of us volunteering at Avery Hill parkrun this weekend - barcode scanning for me, and Peter in his regular role as timekeeper.

It was a very hot day, but everything went smoothly.

It's good fun and pretty busy, scanning runners’ barcodes and finish tokens after they completed the run, helping to make sure their results were recorded correctly 😎.

And not only do you get a GoodGym credit, you get a parkrun credit too. Two for the price of one (but free!).

I volunteered as a marshal at Lesnes Abbey Woods junior parkrun, stationed at 'The Well'.

It was all about encouraging the children as they made their way around the course, giving out lots of high fives (technically high fours, or even high paws...) and cheering them on.

It was a really fun and positive morning, and I enjoyed helping create a supportive atmosphere for all the young runners.

Another hot evening was upon us as we arrived at Welling Library where weeds and brambles had certainly taken hold despite the heatwave!

We soon got stuck in - Sophie collected litter while the rest of us tackled the plants and prickly brambles that had crept across the pathway alongside the building and the yard at the back.

Some of the weeds stuck to us - Alice actually had green fingers!

Well done to Sophie on her 10th good deed!

The time flew by and we bundled up the sacks of cuttings, put away the tools and headed to the Nags Head for a drink and some snacks.

Well done all! The before and after pics show what a difference we made!

Our fab four joined the Friends of Lesnes Abbey and Woods this morning for their monthly conservation session.

We joined the regular volunteers on the hike up to the Heath, taking turns to push two wheelbarrows full of tools. It’s nearly 1km mostly all uphill, so we certainly earned our keep before the work had even begun!

At the top, Paul explained that the plan was to cut back anything that wasn’t heather, ultimately giving the heather a chance to reclaim the area.

Piles of bracken, brambles, holly, oak saplings and honeysuckle soon made their way into the wheelbarrows, ready for the composting areas. There was plenty of cutting, clearing and hauling to keep everyone busy.

Once our patch was looking considerably more heather-friendly, it was time to collect up the tools and head back down to the Chestnuts Kiosk for some drinks.

Another great morning of teamwork, conservation and GoodGym fun!