David Barrett

❄️26 excellent GoodGymmers met on a rather chilly Monday evening for our group run.

🙌We were thrilled to welcome Katie for her first group run, after meeting her a few times at recent community missions.

💪We spent some time congratulating people on some incredible getting fit and doing good over the weekend and last week. There were slabs laid, nature areas developed and half marathons run (including some very impressive PBs) 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️

🎂We discussed the plenty more opportunities to get involved this week, including GoodGym York's 5th birthday celebrations this weekend. With the choice of 5 tasks over the weekend (and any number of 5k runs you fancy doing), the world is your oyster 🌍

😁Tonight, our naming and numbering was accompanied by the perfect antidote to Blue Monday - a discussion of what makes us happy. From kittens to cake to the pub to Paul Kelly, the variety was impressive 🐈

🌳After waving goodbye to our walking friends and doing a quick warm up, we headed to our task.

🌱There to meet us at Clarence Gardens was Iain who gave us our instructions. There were two parts to tonight's task: digging and composting.

🌺Team Dig used a variety of tools (including hoes) to dig over two large flowerbeds. Weeds were pulled out and bulbs rescued in this important task. The council hope to get some funding to transform these at some point but in the meantime, they're grateful for a hand with maintaining them ready for the spring flowers 🌷

⛏️Team Compost were mining for gold (aka decent compost, carefully crafted by GoodGym York over the last few years. There was much digging through the layers of variously composted leaves/mulch to find said gold. The first wheelbarrow was (very politely) declined by Iain who has appropriately high standards when it comes to compost. Once through that layer to the real thing though, there was plenty to be found, dug out, wheelbarrowed and spread on the newly turned over beds. So much compost in fact that there was then a slight panic about what to do with the remaining compost and leaves with the time available. Cue frantic borrowing of tools and people from Team Dig and the compost area was left nice and tidy with a potential future task to finish off the job 🍂

🐍After that, we did some fitness fun involving running snakes (need to come up with a better name) and British Bulldog. With that, we jogged back to base where we stretched off and looked forward to warming up at home/the pub 🍻

👍Thank you everyone, it was really great to see you and hopefully see you sometime soon!

Seven Goodgymers returned to the Holgate Community Allotment to continue to dig out the bramble and bindweed roots that had overtaken the disused allotment ready for the new community orchard. We welcomed Sarah to her first task. Helen, from the allotment group, filled us in on how the project was progressing. The group now have the grants they need for their orchard project and once the digging over is complete are planning to cover the dug over area over the spring and summer to stop the weeds growing back rapidly. They will then plant the fruit trees in the autumn which is the best time to plant them. We are all looking forward to seeing the fruits of our labour!