First session at Burnage community library for us. Nice and well stocked library with lots available for local kids to read and use, including an enclosed garden, which was where we were needed today.

With the Wendy house waiting on the base and some parts missing for the gazebo, we pivoted to making the new storage container, with the previous one having broken.

With a screwdriver 🪛 and some GoodGym elbow grease, and wonderfully fuelled by banana bread and coffee, we managed to put it together, with the shelving inside left open if needed.

Thankful for the refreshments and we'll be back to tackle other tasks in the future.

p.s. there was a quick re-rooting of a tree in front of the library that had seen better days, so hopefully it will survive 🤞

On a rainy Saturday morning, Ben, Peter & Sanjeev took to Gorse Hill Allotments to start prepping the plot for winter.

Taking care to avoid the pumpkins 🎃 , the group were let loose on the overgrown weeds with shears in hand! The jungle of the pollytunnel was cleared out and bindweed & brambles tamed across the patch.

With the clearance complete and a sizeable pile of mulch gathered, cardboard was laid and topped with the freshly cut foliage 🌿. Nature will do the hard work now; breaking it all down over the coming months, while helping to keep the weeds at bay!

The last task was to plant out a few perennials which had been picked up from B&Q on discount! Four Currant plants and two Gooseberry's... a welcome addition that will provide fruit for years to come! 🍇

We will be back in November for another session at Gorse Hill 🌱, so keep an eye out on the GoodGym Manchester page! 🏃

Brisk October evening of marshalling a key junction at the Moonlit Miles event organised by MCR Parks and the council. Regular waves of runners, led by various run clubs, from 18:25 until 21:00.

Thankfully had hot coffee on hand to keep hands warm and lots of lights to keep both runners and marshals visible as the night drew in.

Super event to raise awareness about safety for runners, particularly women, over the darker winter months, with information on hand. It would be great to get a GoodGym group out next time!

Welcome to GoodGym's Jacob for your first session in Manchester!

This evening we met up outside Whitworth Art Gallery too drop off food donations and do a litterpick for 422 Community Hub. After a short loop of Whitworth Park, Jacob got to experience the Whitworth Lidl, full to the brim with students living nearby.

With donations bagged, we took a brisk walk towards Longsight and we managed to drop the donations in various bags to the reception, with only a few oats lost in transition.

While the rain stayed away, we used the Clean Up UK litterpickers with Keep MCR Tidy pink bags to scour the nearby streets for any litter we could find to give it a bit of an autumnal clean. We filled 3 sacks and found a few toothbrushes, a box, and a broken mop bucket along with the regular cans and bottles.

We ran home in our respective directions, with a few fireworks from local parks as a backdrop. All bags have been reported to Keep MCR Tidy and best of luck to Gloria in the Frankfurt marathon this weekend!