Nine of us headed to Aldermoor Farm yesterday, with a surprise addition to the team! Beth, who we normally help out at Rose Road, decided to join us as a GoodGym member! It took Wilson a moment to work out why she was standing at Aldermoor Farm rather than Rose Road - doesnt take much to confuse.

Our main task was tackling the notoriously overgrown hedge. We've cut it back many times before, but this time it had really got out of hand. Six members of the team attacked it from both sides and did an incredible job, although I suspect there are a few aching arms today after such a serious workout.

Meanwhile, Beth joined Sarah on the onion bed for some much-needed weeding, carefully untangling the ever-persistent bindweed.

Wilson also got stuck in, cutting back several other overgrown bushes by the pond.

By the end of the session, we could take a group photo by the hedge which wouldn't have been possible before we started!

Epic work team - thankyou

At first we were unsure if all the balsam had already been bashed by another volunteer group as we arrived to piles hung from trunks here, there and everywhere. Once we moved a bit further into the undergrowth we found an abundance of red rooted aliens to pull! Unfortunately they seemed to be surrounded by an impenetrable wall of nettles too so we had to carefully pull around them while also getting pestered by mosquitoes despite a good soaking in bug spray beforehand. It wasn't long before we had made a good dent and were ready to head off. Before that though we had quite the scare pulling a furry thing from the undergrowth that the balsam had grown into. It turned out to be a teddy bear and not a previously alive furry thing fortunately. Giorgio Beverley Hills bear was actually a bit of an antique as came from 1998. Selling for £9.72 on Ebay in mint condition but alas our Giorgio was very much not in mint condition and did in fact have balsam growing out his head and a host of worms and bugs!