Three hardcore Goodgymmers visited the Westbury Banks Nature Reserve for a spot for wildflower planting.

They first got the beds ready, by pulling out loads of ivy and deeply-rooted weeds.

Then, they sprinkled wildflower seeds everywhere like little fairy dust. Fingers crossed for a flowery meadow this summer!

4 Goodgymmers hankered after welly boots and head torches as they lent a hand in the dark at George Meehan House for a spot of lawn surgery.

The Beast At The Gates

Our four Goodgymmers arrived at the gates of George Meehan House for an early start to meet Luke from GrowN22 who needed a hand sorting out the flower meadow in the Wedding Gardens of George Meehan House. They arrived, all smiles and high fives but that quickly changed.

Enter The Beast.

Mylo, a Cerberus trapped in the body of the cutest Dachshund you have ever seen, guarded the gates and his human Luke with tenacious care. He barked and barked as our Goodgymmers settled into the task for the night.

It was a very muddy affair which made it very slippery underfoot but a lot easier to get rid of the top layer of grassy soil from the wildflower meadow in readiness for the 150 sunflowers, currently being lovingly grown in Luke's flower nursery somewhere in N22.

Very soon, we realised Mylo's barking was simply him trying to tell us he wanted to get involved, and before you knew it, he was digging along with Clare, Julie, and Charlie as Gramps stood around pestering our Goodgymmers for photos.

At around 7:30, and having lost the one source of light we had to low battery, we decided to call it an evening.

We all took turns at getting Mylo to do tricks and give him treats and call him a good boy, and he even joined in the high fives at the end. What a rock star.

Come next week! It's another early start but always fun as we visit Traid on Wood Green High Road.

Have you heard the one about the 5 Goodgymmers litter picking a Looney-Tunes-style pile of cans from Tottenham Green on a surprisingly mild, march evening? No? Well, you're in luck...

Edging Our Bets

On an evening when Plan A failed, the wonderful Laura from the Friends of Tottenham Green swooped in to our rescue despite feeling positively under the weather and arranged a fun session for us.

And it was much needed as a bunch of fine young men had decided to use the central path at the Green as a makeshift Reuse & Recycle Centre after what looked like a few days long drinking bender. I mean, the scale of this pile of rubbish was so cartoonish in its breadth.

Undeterred, our Goodgymmers tackled the industrial-sized pile in good spirits while some of the aforementioned young men questioned the finer points of running for fun, while also correctly identifying the level of hotness of our Dave.

Before you knew it, and a good 8 (!) full bags at last count, the Green resembled a public park again rather than a rubbish dump and Laura tasked us with our second job for the eve. On the High Road side of the park, we were asked to give some flowerbeds a proper manicure and redesign the edges of the beds. Overgrown and covered in old leaves and soil, it was difficult to see where the bed ended and the path began so we armed ourselves with spades, forks, and brooms and got on with it.

Reader, our Goodgymmers were natural-born manicurists. Little by little, the edges of the bed began to be redefined again and in what looked almost planned, we completed the job just as the clock hit Nurjehan Time™ (aka. 8pm).

We helped Laura collect the tools and put them back in her lovingly-curated shed and posed for some selfies before we headed off into the night. Boom.

Join us next week as we visit our Borough's Municipal Home to look after the Sunflower House Wildflower Meadow. Come!

9 Goodgymmers braved the yellow warnings of Storm Ciaran to lend a hand at the Noel Park Estate for a bit of tree maintenance shenanigans.

So long, suckers!

Our Goodgymmers arrived one by one to Blue House Yard to find out that Gramps - not content with spending two weeks with his feet up getting fat and watching the telly while allegedly in the sick bin - had also mixed up his dates and the task advertised for the evening was not actually until next week. Our Goodgymmers, as always gracious and accommodating, didn't make him feel bad about it and were in fact eager about the prospect of trimming suckers from plane trees in the middle of a powerful storm. 😅

Thankfully, the rain and the wind held out long enough to keep our Goodgymmers dry while they concentrated their efforts on a lovely tree-lined road in the Noel Park Estate. Dave, Sarah, Julie, Raj, Latoya, and Charlie wasted no time and in getting rid of suckers from the mature trees while Clare and Nurjehan took charge of a thorough litter pick of all the tree beds and pavements, including some newly-installed rain garden planters outside the Noel Park school.

It was a smooth operation and within the hour, all trees along the .5 mile long (!) Lymington Avenue had been sorted and the road was looking impeccable. Big shout out to the local residents who came out to provide some light for our Goodgymmers while they trimmed the tree outside their house. They did look at us like we had just landed from a different planet but were very enthusiastic and supportive about our efforts.

Once we were done, we took all cuttings and rubbish back to Noel Park Big Local's HQ and as always, we made time for some selfies, hugs, and high fives.

Boom

Join us next week as we visit Tottenham Green for some bulb planting!