This evening, we returned to Meadow Lane playground to continue our support for the NaturEscape transformation project. We split into two teams to tackle the next tasks. The first team worked on clearing the mesh fencing with bolt cutters, enjoying the satisfaction of completing a job we started last time! By cutting back the fencing and clearing overgrown foliage, the play space has been opened up, allowing children to run freely between the trees. The second team transferred woodchip from below a defunct zip line to a log circle, instantly making the area look more magical and inviting. We learnt that the technique for clearing the woodchip was to ‘scrape not dig’’! We scraped up the woodchip and transported it back and forth in a wheelbarrow. Joe provided some great tips, including to always point your empty wheelbarrow in the direction you’ll travel once it’s full, saving you from maneuvering a heavy load! We were pleased to have Chris back with us, and to warmly welcome Rab for their first session!

Mrs P's lawn at the front and back of the house had become very long since I last saw her. As it was a dry day, I was able to mow both lawns as they are quite small and pull a lot of weeds so that her garden looked much tidier. She is always so appreciative of my amateurish efforts and we had a nice cup of tea and a chat afterwards.

The weather was a suitable metaphor for this evening's session; warm summer sunshine interspersed with heavy downpours. Up on Hinksey Hill, with wonderful views of the dreaming spires, we were exposed to all the weathers. Our task was digging / pulling up ragwort in collaboration with our friends at Oxford Preservation Trust.

It's a fantastic plant for wildlife, with yellow flowers beloved of bees, butterflies and moths, and it provides a home for over 200 species of invertebrates. Yay. It can also kill horses and other livestock. Boo. Seven of us dug and pulled, including Chris on his first GoodGym session. Together, we extracted enough deadly stems to fill a builders' bag.

The rain nearly missed us but we were treated to a lovely rainbow as we shouldered out tools and set off home.

Today we ventured back to Boundary Brook Nature Reserve. Lovely Helen always comes up with unique jobs for us to do and today was no exception. Earlier in the week an Early Years sessions had resulted in a popped beanbag covering a large area in THOUSANDS of teeny tiny polystyrene balls. At first glance the ground looked like it was covered in blossom or snow. Undettered we set to work, trying to preserve as much of the gravel as possible. I must admit that it was slightly meditative but i think ill be seeing those little pellets in my dreams!

Another species that has taken hold was big clumps of sedge. Of left this plant can be very invasive so Vicky and Muireann dug out loads of it, filling 4 wheelbarrows - STRONG ❤❤

Particular highlights of the task were mostly dodging the rain, a visit from Meg (and Dylan) and being tolerated by Mr Bojingles (the cat).

*What do you do when the Met Office suggests a 95% chance of rain and you have a litter pick and outdoor pizza planned? *Answer: a speed litter-sweep, quick dip in the Thames (ok, that was only the spaniel) and head off in search of pizza under a roof.

Port meadow was surprisingly clean given our recent sunny spell (well done, Oxford!) but eagle Goodgym eyes still managed to retrieve a small haul of bottle tops, cigarette butts, miscellaneous pieces of plastic, a dirty sock and what looked like a false finger nail. Every little helps and hopefully a small but worthwhile contribution to keeping Port Meadow a beautiful place to relax on a nice summer's day. And we did get our pizza.

Welcome to Goodgym Alice!!

On a bright and warm Saturday morning, Henry, Axelle, Jango and myself headed to Cutteslowe Greenhouse. The raised beds the GoodGym team worked on a few weekends ago were looking good. They were filled with healthy looking lettuces which were very perky in spite of the heat.

Michael asked us to clear away a section of the site and while we were outdoors, we were thankfully in the shade! We moved bricks, rocks and pallets while Jango bounded around the site charming everyone he met. Our next task involved cutting back brambles, nettles and dead plants to access some giant planters which needed emptying. This all went smoothly until we discovered the final planter was filled with soil and chunks of polystyrene. I’d say we dug out about two wheelbarrows worth of polystyrene before we were able to dump the remaining soil onto the compost heap!

Our shady spot began to shrink, so we eventually called it a day and headed off into the afternoon sun!

(If anyone knows why you’d bury a load of polystyrene in a planter filled with wisteria, please let us know)