Blitz session with Dan from Ardwick Climate Action for some maintenance of the raised beds and planters near the A6 on Lockton Close 🌱

With a trailer full of tools, plants, water, and gloves, we made our way from the storage at Brunswick Parish Church before a steady session on the cobbles by the traffic lights and roadworks.

Lots of loose leaves collected, weeds removed from between the cobbles, and lots of growth along the cycle path was removed to fill up a whole tonne bag.

Meanwhile, we removed any dead plants and weeds from the planters before filling up with compost and soil to replant old plants and add in a collection of new plants 🌿🌱

Lots done in an hour before a quick litter pick and then back to base after adding to the compost pile at the site.

Good quick session after a long run to course check and help set up at Fletcher Moss parkrun in the morning too with Juno 🐾🦺

Welcome to Lucy for your first GoodGym session!

This evening, we were back at Eden Gardens Orchard in Philips Park to finish where we left off with a greenhouse needing to be built in place. Some of the frame from two weeks ago needed a bit of re-jigging and lots of the screws needed tightening, but bit by bit, we made some progress in the right direction.

While some screws snapped with some over-keen tightening (🙋‍♂️ guilty) we managed to get the back and 2 sides in place to screw together, with Jodie nimbly able to attach the clips connecting the frame to the base. Just in time, the front frame was ready to attach after some swapping of pieces, with a team effort needed to hold parts together while others screwed the bolts in.

As we tightened the screws, added more of the roof, and cross pieces were added for some extra strength, the structure became much more sturdy, shapely, and almost looked like a greenhouse (just without the glass).

Dennis from the gardens seemed very pleased, bringing out a northern staple of vimto, plums freshly plucked from the trees, and Julia supplementing with biscuits to keep us sustained. We had a potter around the orchard, seeing how sweetcorn is fertilised in lines, with a bit of weeding of the rocky path. Thank you to Peter for the Oregano!

Cracking effort from all involved. Next week we'll be helping weed and maintain the fruit trees 🌳 growing in Philips Park, including those grown with magic walnuts.

Really fantastic event hosted by GRIT Studios and The Coping CIC for Move a Mile 2026!!

This creative community trail was completely free for those attending, with skate parks, spray painting workshops, street dancing, and much more, with a mile walk at 1pm and 3pm. Ben was on hand as one of the walk leaders to make sure everyone made it in one piece with some busy roads nearby.

Lots of gritters, creatives, and a good community day finishing at Graystones where free skate lessons were available for those who got their stamps in! Looking forward to similar events at other GRIT locations later in the year.

Fun evening at the Plastic Shed soft launch!

Lots of items made from recycled plastic lids on show using moulds made from aluminium, including:

• buttons
• (lab) coat pegs
• rulers
• clips
• bowls
• coasters
• spin tops
• combs
• lid connectors for building models from lids

We had the opportunity to drill some lids into the new mural inside too. Plus we got to see the new machines, new painted walls and spaces, and the new shop front!

Great to see how much progress Caitlin and Jamie have made!