GoodGym x Earth Hour - A Rolling Stone Gathers No ... Compost?

Last night, 16 fantabulous GoodGym runners ran to complete an environmental task at the Mackintosh Community Garden in support of #EarthHour!

Our task for the evening was to move heavy items, organise different materials and do a general tidy up to help make the gardens more useable to the local community. But first we all met up on a gorgeous spring evening - what sunshine! - at our usual spot in town: Big Moose Cafe. We welcomed a new runner, Laura Louise and introduced ourselves, naming our favourite bird. Who knew there is a blue-footed booby! There were also magpies, a couple of robins and even an emu put forth - what an eclectic bunch of birds! We also heard about Anthony's coach running, last week's Community Mission to Rhumney Seedlings, Ellen & Mikey's weekend Mission to help Mr J dig his garden ready for planting beans, and our racers Aimee, Fiona and Lucy's results from the Monsal Trail 10k on Sunday - what fantastic news to hear that Lucy came in third for women, overall!

For warm up, we played a favourite childhood game (at least to Ellen, who grew up in America): Red Light, Green Light. This game is called Grandmother's Footsteps, or Statues, here in GB, so most people were familiar with it. Aimee and Ellen took turns playing the caller at one end of the space we played in. With our backs to a line of runners, we called either Green Light or Red Light. Whenever Green Light was called out, players did lunges first, then arm pumps, to move towards the caller. However, when Red Light was called out, they had to stop immediately. At any point, the caller could say Red Light and turn around. If any of the runners were caught moving after this, they were out. I honestly cannot remember who won both rounds, we were having so much fun!

Once warmed up, we sped off to the Community Garden. We still had plenty of light to see by, once we reached our destination (with even more once the clocks go forward next weekend - cannot wait!). We were met by Carol and Ishah from the Garden, and Wil from WWF. They gave us a brief introduction to the Garden - its use and benefits to the community - and also our instructions for the evening. And then we were off! One group quickly got stuck in, moving old bits of wood and other debris from a corner of the plot, and cleared up the old fire pit of ashes and stones. The other group went to dig out some of the mountainous compost heap. At point, Su looked like she was playing another childhood game: King of the Hill! Once the old fire pit had been cleared, a new ring of bigger stones were carried (and in some cases, rolled in) placed in a smaller circle - making what we cheekily renamed the Rave Pit. The compost heap was reduced in size, then covered with old carpets to help it reduce down even more. Lovely compost was shifted to other parts of the plot, and further tidying was done with benches being moved, pallets being put down and even an old garden-style trampoline being dismantled for parts! Lots of digging and lifting and twisting and turning was involved with both tasks - so despite the relatively short run for us there and back, it really was a great outdoor gym session. Aimee even found a perfect stone (that someone mistook for a potato!).

Speaking of running back - some of the front runners discovered a new training opportunity on the return journey: a dash around St Andrews Crescent! (this is the circle that goes around Eglwys Dewi Sant, just off Stuttgarter Strasse). A few red faces after that, but a great opportunity to put some speed into our run. Overall, a fab evening with some amazing tasks accomplished, in lovely conditions and with some great new partners helping to do good in the community. More of the same, please!

#Earth Hour 🦍🐘🐬 Our world is under threat like never before... We must find ways conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on Earth 🦁🦎🐗🐟 We need a global deal for nature and people to reverse the decline. Earth Hour is the world’s biggest switch off event. Each year, millions of people around the world switch off their lights and organise events – at home, in their community or in their towns or cities – to show they care about the future of our planet.

From the week commencing March 25th, GoodGym is teaming with Earth Hour to do good for the community across the UK with a variety of environmentally themed tasks. We have two fantastic runs organised this Saturday, 30 March - get signed up now!!!

GoodGym x Earth Hour event - Run to garden at Plasnewydd Community Gardens 🐼 🌎🦍

GoodGym x Earth hour event - Making seedbombs & then running to throw them into Cardiff's green spaces - Stopping at Cardiff Castle for lights out! 🐼 🌎🦍

Earth Hour highlights the changes needed at a global level, but also encourages everyone to take personal action. You could, for instance, change the way you eat, embrace reusables and buy less plastic, or help to restore nature in your community. You can share your pledge using #EarthHourWales to show how you are making a difference.