It was a beautiful, warm summer evening as 8 GoodGymers came together to help spruce up the classic red phone boxes in our local area. This week we were partnering with Box Walks, a charity which develops nature-based, adventure walks using Britain's grade II listed phone boxes as destination points on the walks, which unlock interactive content and activities.

After meeting at the Tap Tavern, we walked over to Richmond Green and met task owner Emma at the two phone boxes close to the "Ted Lasso" pub. These boxes were Bertie (with a focus on biodiversity) and Sophie (sustainable food). We tried out the quiz questions on biodiversity, then set to cleaning Bertie and Sophie with dusters, cloths and cleaners. Birthday boy Chris scaled a ladder to clean the roofs of the boxes.

We then followed the route of one of the Box Walks up to the Vineyard to find Freddy (fungi) and to St Matthias Church where Tilly (trees) has her home. Each got a thorough clean and featured in a few shots of the group. It was a fun task and we look forward to doing it again!

A lively crew of GoodGymers made their way today to a community mission at the Purple Elephant project playground!

The Purple Elephant project does incredible work supporting children and families in the local area, so we were delighted to pitch in and assist with work that was needed with their outdoor play space.

What We Tackled: After a welcoming brief from Maggie on the tasks ahead, we split up, grabbed paintbrushes and tins, and got straight down to business.

Varnishing the Playground Wonders: The outdoor playground features a lovely wooden tunnel, raised flowerbeds, and a garden bench, all of which were in need of some TLC and weather protection. We got to work coating the wood evenly, ensuring the playground apparatus and seating are thoroughly protected and looking vibrant.

Fresh Canvas for Creativity: Over on the boards, Manuela took on the task of painting over both a well-used chalkboard and an acrylic board. With a smooth, clean coat applied, both are now blank canvases ready for brand new art, games, and outdoor learning!

Mission Accomplished: In just under two hours, we managed to protect the wooden play structures, revive the seating, and the activity boards. A huge thank you to the Purple Elephant project team for having us! It was a brilliant, productive mission for a fantastic cause.

This evening we ran to lovely INS, one of our furthest tasks but always worth the trip! Task owner Sarah had prepared meticulously for our arrival to paint the front door, key the handrails and then paint them. What a great use of time to have everything taped up and all equipment ready to go!

And with great prep comes great performance as less 45mins later we had completed the task together and the entrance to the building looked great for it!

We are heading back there in August ro continue painting the handrail as it runs around the back.