We spent a very happy morning at Hirst Wood helping to clear ivy, brambles and moss from the graves at the burial site there. The site opened in 1895 as an extension of the graveyard at St Paul's in Shipley and has become neglected since active use ended in, we think, the 1940s.

We tidied up several graves, including the grave of one of the Bradford Pals regiment who died in action in July 1916, and was buried at Hirst Wood with both his parents. It was great exercise and the other volunteers from Hirst Wood Regeneration Group were incredibly welcoming. They also provided fabulous homemade cake!

We will be running future missions here so watch this space!

The second ever GoodGym Bradford task was the first of hopefully many visits to Northcliffe Allotments and Community Gardens.

Val from the allotment group met us and initially gave us a tour of this wonderful space. At the moment, the main visitors to the garden are foxes and deer (unfortunately not today) but the group are planning on opening it to the public next weekend. That meant there were plenty of tasks to choose from.

Me, Asimah and Kati got to work with some of the other volunteers clearing the paths. Rachel got to work covering a giant mound of abandoned soil with reclaimed stones.

The paths were very overgrown in parts so it was really therapeutic to get the lopers out and cut the plants back. The stubborn dandelions between the paving slabs were hard work but by the end the paths were looking much more accessible.

Over at the mound, Rachel made excellent work of the stones and was able to cover the most public facing part of the mound.

After two hours of work and a cuppa, we said our goodbyes. Val still has plenty more jobs on her list and more up her sleeve so we'll be back next month to do some more 😁

Three pioneering Bradford GoodGymers met at Cartwright Hall for the Nature's Hope event in Lister Park. We helped put up multiple gazebos and a marquee and are now well versed in how many types of these work!

I met the Bradford Council Living Well team, the Denso Marston nature reserve team and Bradford Becks, and got their contact details so we can potentially support them with missions in the future.