What started as a gentle walk around Stephens House & Gardens turned into an exciting look at the future of GoodGym Barnet.

Daniel and I met up with Jiji Fay, who has recently joined GoodGym as part of an exciting national programme to help introduce more young people to everything GoodGym has to offer. It’s a brilliant initiative, and we’re looking forward to helping it grow here in Barnet.

Our first stop was Stephens House & Gardens – one of Barnet’s hidden gems. This beautiful 10-acre park is cared for largely by volunteers and receives no regular council funding, relying instead on donations, the café and income from the House. GoodGym volunteers regularly lend a hand here throughout the year, helping keep this special place looking its best.

From there we strolled down to our three Tiny Forests, where we chatted about citizen science, biodiversity and how these little woodlands are becoming a hub for people of all ages who are interested in nature and sustainability. They’re a wonderful example of what communities can achieve when people come together.

Of course, we also talked about what makes GoodGym so special. It’s not just about running (or walking!); it’s about meeting great people, improving your wellbeing, discovering local projects, giving back to your community and having fun along the way.

We’re really excited to work with Jiji to inspire more younger people to join the GoodGym family. Here’s to growing an even bigger, more diverse team of volunteers making a positive difference across Barnet—one step at a time.

When our planned task at Martin Primary School had to be cancelled at the last minute, GoodGym Barnet did what GoodGym does best—we adapted!

Instead of heading to the school, we made the most of a beautiful evening with a run over to Cherry Tree Woods. Before getting stuck into the task, we warmed up with some jogging, dynamic stretches, knee lifts and a few strides to get everyone moving.

With such a lovely park and not too much litter to collect, we took the opportunity to mix fitness with a bit of fun by practising our frisbee skills. We worked on backhand and sidearm throws to improve our catching—always useful skills for a future game in the park!

After that it was time for the serious business of litter picking. Thankfully Cherry Tree Woods was looking in pretty good shape, but we still managed to fill a bag with the usual assortment of discarded rubbish, including a lonely Croc shoe and a child’s rucksack waiting to be reunited with its owner. unfortunately, it was binned!

With the park a little cleaner and everyone having enjoyed an active evening outdoors, we jogged back to the Phoenix to round off another adaptable GoodGym session.

Sometimes the best sessions are the ones you never planned! 🏃🥏

We had a great turn out for our return to the Finchley Charities' community plot at the Fuel Land Allotments. Ten Goodgymmers gathered, half at the Phoenix for the warm up run and half at the allotment gates for the task. We were met by the lovely plot coordinators Brigid and Les, as well as Carmel from the Finchley Charities. (A brief shout out to www.goodgym.org/v3/profile/sheela-guttula, who couldn't make it due to an injury - get well soon!)

With many hands, we made light work of the tasks: carrying logs from the back of the plot to the front to extend the palisade, weeding bindweed, horseradish and oak seedlings and watering the vegetables. We also admired the wonderfully weird icon of Jesus the group found by chance painted on an old slab resting by the shed, as well as a lovely tiger moth spotted on a fence near the plot.

It was great to see Jamie out again for his third session - hoping work commitments will allow for lots of future sessions. And thank you to Richard for suggesting the pizza and popcorn social afterwards for some of us.