Quiz time: what's the fastest growing thing in Doddington Roof Garden? Answer: Melissa's to do list of course! But who better than GG Wandsworth to tackle it!? On Saturday the team had two tasks - move some planters donated by the council and general jobs in the garden. The first task turned out to be bigger than expected, as the planters arrived full to the brim of heavy clay soil. Felix, Jordan and Ana emptied one and shimmied it to it's new location, but the rest will need the Monday night crew (look out for a task coming soon!) Ana and I then swept up leaves and added them to the in-situ compost along with some of the clay soil from the planters downstairs. Lifting and moving those trugs of soil was certainly a work out!!

What was meant to be a quick Saturday morning task to move some planters soon turned into a mammoth weight training session when we found out they were full to the brim with heavy wet soil! We managed one planter but it soon transpired this would be a job for a bigger group - so tonight we’ll be heading down again to finish the challenge. Shout out to Felix and Jordan for putting in an admirable show of strength and practically moving mountains!

It's hard to measure the impact GoodGym has had, but nine years and 6217 is a good place to start! Not only that, but we have had 9 people reach 50 good deeds, a massive 17 people soar over 100 good deeds, and one person is well on their way to a giant 1000 good deeds. A special shout out to all the lovely faces that have joined in the last year and are well on their way to reaching their first milestone. If you've come to one session or 500, you've all been part of something really meaningful. Here's to the next year of doing good and getting fit!

We kicked off the night of celebrations with a warm up and thanks to Ariane, a beautiful selection of party hats! In our best party wear we ran up Chiswick High Rd for the first of two weeks of sessions there to first clear, then plant. This is a busy area which often gets lots of rubbish chucked into the raised beds. It has been taken over by Abundance London, a local charity, who want to make it more environmentally friendly. The hope is that if it is filled with spring flowers and cleared of leaves, it will stop people littering, create better air quality and look beautiful too.

We got straight on with the work, clearing the space and packing up leaves into bags. In just a short window of time we managed to get no fewer than 50 bags, which is amazing. The area looks so much better, has reduced the chances of slips and is all ready for our planting session next week.

Everybody knows that no party is complete without a fitness element, so it was on to Turnham Green for our birthday themed session. First up was a balloon relay - everyone got their own balloon and the challenge was to transport it between our knees using lateral jumps. The first team to complete the sprint and then pop their balloon between their knees (squeeze those quads!) wins. The ladies achieved the first victory, so it was on to the next game to decided who took home the prize. This involved keeping a balloon in the air, and involved quick wits, fast reflexes and even faster twitch muscles. Again, it was the ladies that emerged victorious and snagged themselves an early Christmas selection box!

On Saturday we have a lovely mission planting bulbs at Chiswick House -why not join in the fun!

Happy Birthday GoodGym Hounslow - here's to all the litter picked, trees planted, community hubs planted, gardens created and mulch shifted so far!