Yesterday evening, a squad of GoodGymers met up at Roehampton Methodist Church to support Shared Roots. This incredible organization is dedicated to empowering local communities by turning underutilized urban spaces into productive, sustainable, and educational food-growing hubs.

With the ground still parched from a hot summer, the task meant a great workout. Moving heavy stones and shifting mud tested our stamina, but working together we shifted stubborn debris, hauled away stones, shovelled and levelled the earth. Shout-out to Jason and his trusty pickaxe!

The cleared space will support Shared Roots in their mission to boost local food security and give residents access to fresh, healthy produce by preparing the plot needed to construct raised beds.

Beyond the digging, it was a joyful session filled with lots of big life news shared across the group. We look forward to celebrating all these milestones together as a team over the coming weeks!

We will be heading back to continue supporting this fantastic project on our follow-up mission next Wednesday evening. Sign up on the website to help us build the raised beds and see this community garden really take shape

Last night, GoodGym Hounslow returned to Baron’s Ponds, turning an overgrown tangle into a future beautiful bluebell glade. A warm GoodGym welcome to Ealing member Scott, who joined us for his first session in Hounslow!

Baron’s Ponds sits in a historic corner of Gunnersbury, but, as nobody had been caring for it for some years, it risked becoming simply overgrown, derelict space. Thankfully, a passionate team of local volunteers stepped up to take over its care, aiming to increase biodiversity and sustainability.

We got straight to work pulling up and hauling away mounds of the invasive ivy. The volume of growth was immense, but we soon got stuck and started making a difference. A special shout-out has to go to Chris and Florian, who spent the evening fighting the good fight against a truly colossal, knotted ball of ivy. It was a real wrestling match — check out the photos for the unbelievable scenes and ultimate victory.

While we worked, Mark (the head of the volunteer team) filled us in on a bit of local drama. It turns out the pond is currently being plagued by a lone terrapin. This rogue reptile has been terrorising the local ecosystem, eating up all the frogs and other tiny pond creatures. Apparently he’s quite intrepid and frequently commutes between here and the main ponds at Gunnersbury Park. The ultimate plan is to safely catch and rehome him - unless he makes a speedy getaway first. 

With the ivy cleared, the area is one step closer to being turned into a blue vision come spring. Next week, we are teaming up with Wild Chiswick for more green-fingered tasks that deliver a real environmental impact. You can find the details here.

It was our monthly trip back to Doddington last night. This former multistorey car park has been transformed into a thriving community garden, providing a valuable growing space for local people who might not otherwise have access to a garden of their own. We also had some very special reasons to celebrate: a huge congratulations to Jason on his 100th Good Deed! 🎉 And a very happy 30th birthday to Annabel! 🎂

We kicked things off with a warm-up and the evening's quiz question: how many dimples are there on a golf ball? There was some doubt over the answer, but I'll leave you to decide whether to trust the quizmaster…

We arrived to find a whole host of jobs waiting for us: clearing mallow and teasels, laying down cardboard and mulch, shifting mulch into the raised beds and transporting soil. Before too long everyone was busy getting stuck in. 💪🌱

There was also an added incentive for the evening: whoever collected the most teasels would win the famous Tromboncino!

But what exactly is a Tromboncino? This wonderfully weird looking vegetable is a variety of butternut squash which is used like a courgette — and if you leave it to mature, it can grow into a long, curved, trombone-shaped fruit of up to around a metre!

Once we'd done our bit at the garden, it was time to head down to the square for some fitness. This week's challenge was 130-themed: working in pairs, we had to complete a series of exercises which cumulatively added up to 130. Plenty of counting, plenty of reps and plenty of teamwork. Congratulations to Katie and Catherine, who completed the challenge first! 🏆

Then, of course, it was time for cake and the grand presentation of the Tromboncino. After her impressive teasel-gathering efforts, the prize went to Annabel — who immediately demonstrated the true versatility of this magnificent vegetable by wearing it as a rather beautiful neckpiece at the pub quiz. 🥒✨

A brilliant evening of community gardening, celebrations, questionable golf-ball trivia, fitness, cake and vegetable couture.

Huge congratulations again to Jason for this huge milestone - 100 good deeds shows massive commitment, energy and effort which has had an unquantifiable positive impact.

Next week... We're off to Balham Nursery to help with some jobs. You can sign up here