Portsmouth

Community mission

A Bird (Shell) in the Hand is Worth a High Five with a Squirrel

5 GoodGymers made their way to help the Baffins Pond Association in Portsmouth.

  • Samantha Belfrage
  • Portsmouth runner
  • Katie London
  • Aoife
  • Beth Hudson
 
Saturday, 25th of June 2022
 
Led by Katie Carew-Robinson
she/her

Sam, Betsy, Beth, Katie L, Aoife and Mel met at the BPA to collect our hi-viz, gloves, litter pickers and bags. We said hello to Jane one of the Trustees who ran through some health & safety rules and off we went. Rather usefully, two bin bags had been attached to the bin bag holders which meant we could separate rubbish from re-cycling as we went. We made a start on the path beside the play park, but noticed a lot of rubbish in the play area that we couldn't reach. Sam and Betsy opted to clear that area, whilst the rest of us went into the wooded area to find out if there had been any parties! We had the usual finds of plastic sweets & crisps packaging, but it wasn't too bad. We did find lots of very tame squirrels much to the delight of the visiting children. We moved on to the open field and made our way down the left-hand side before making our way back across the middle, meeting a man on a bike who had lost his phone and retracing his earlier cycle ride. Fortunately, he later came back confirming he'd found his phone and was much relieved. Again, not too much litter, but Aoife did find a bumbag and football boot soles with studs intact (does that count as the oft found item of clothing?), but nothing too unusual. In the meantime, Sam and Betsy had found the squirrels, with Betsy getting up close and personal with a couple of them, even getting a high five from one. Betsy also found a white hatched egg shell – can anyone tell us which bird might have hatched it from the photos? Sam, Betsy, Mel, and Katie joined by hubby and children had drinks, biscuits and lollypops at the BPA cafe, before making our different ways home.

Report written by Portsmouth runner


Discuss this report

sign in to add a comment

Share the love

Join us on the next run

Compost Chaos

Wednesday 18:00 - 19:45
Led by Jen Stoneham
Fratton Community Centre

Find out more

Become a member

with an optional monthly donation

  • Run, walk, or cycle to help older people
  • Access sessions across the country
  • Claim your GoodGym t-shirt

Need help with a community project?

If you're a community organisation and have a physical task then we'd like to help.

Request a task

Cookies help us deliver our services. By using our services, you agree to our use of cookies. Learn more