When Maggie had a surprise grass cut at the church yard, she put the emergency call out and four super GoodGymers answered to help clear it 💪

Scott arrived off the back of a 10km training run, Harriet cycled across town, and both Jacob and myself being local, could take an easy stroll. Convening in the church yard, we welcomed Jacob to his first session 👋 Although a familiar face, it was great to have him join a task!

We were met by Chris, who is a pro at grass clearing, having been involved for a number of years and sometimes clearing 8 lots a year! From first glance there didn't seem to be much grass, but it didn't take long to realise there was plenty to be collected!

We raked and chatted, catching up on fine dining experiences, The Odyssey and, of course, race training. We had a lovely little pause to meet a very cute pup who joined us in a bit of grass clearing, but was mainly interested in a bit of fuss, which we were all more than willing to give 🐶

It's warm work, so the refreshment break was very welcome. Both elderflower and lime cordial on offer this week. We heard more from Maggie and Chris about the Churchyard Conservation Awards, which support parishes to protect biodiversity. St Andrew's is going for Silver, which requires active management including wildflower areas, wildlife information boards, animal boxes and clearing of grass cuttings.

Within an hour we had cleared 3 large bags of cuttings 😅 With the judges coming in the next few weeks, we were glad to be able to help. Good luck 🙌

Pun credit: Scott 🍰

Two Goodgymers volunteered at Fulbourn Hospital Parkrun. Catherine did a great job cheering on runners while marshalling. She then joined me and another volunteer to help with post run closedown, collecting up all the cones used to mark the course and rabbit holes. What a heroine! We rewarded ourselves with a nice hot drink and cheese scone and a chat with some of the other parkrunners. It was a lovely way to spend the morning.

An evening of firsts for GoodGym Cambridge.

Firstly, a new task, joining Coton Loves Pollinators at their pollinator patch allotment site.

We welcomed Izzy and John to their first GoodGym session 👋 (Spoiler alert: It was a great one!)

In another first for us, we met to cycle to the task. Surprising considering we live in the city of cycling! We enjoyed a beautiful route (including the new cycle street) out West of Cambridge through the countryside.

As we got into Coton, a fantastic personalised sign greeted us and led the way to the site. We met the brilliant Bridget who showed us down to the allotment to meet the rest of the group, who had already been busy getting the polytunnel frame up!

John and Izzy used their height advantage to help with the polytunnel cover. In just 20 minutes the polythene was on and held taught by Izzy's very satisfying wire work. Eventually, the tunnel will be covered in transparent photovoltaic panels, generating electricity from UV, whilst allowing visible light though to grow plants. Very clever ☀️

The rest of the group got started on planting in a new patch, extending the growing space. As we were breaking new ground, gadget expert Anna, let us use an earth auger to drill the holes for the plants. Naturally, we all wanted a go...the ease, the power! Sandra and Alice led the drilling and Ilse took the lead with planting. Going in were beans and sunflowers, a companion planting dream, with the sunflowers providing a growth surface for the bean vines and the beans fixing nitrogen in the soil for nutrition. Win,win. 🌻🫛

With yet another fun tool, Anna gave us a plant taping machine (definitely not a label maker) to attach the stems to the support pole for the early growth stages. Once we'd got the hang of it, it was another very satisfying job.

With 40 plants in the ground and the main polytunnel up, we paused to admire the beauty of the pollinator patch, and just when we thought the evening couldn't get any better, Bridget arrived with scones and tea! All homemade and warm from the oven, what a treat. We couldn't ask for better way to enjoy the end of a beautiful evening 💛