When Mr Davies, the head teacher at St Peter Chanel Primary School, asked if we could help the Year 5 APT (Air Pollution Team) with some planting, we were very happy to lend a hand.

Working alongside the children, we planted heather, cyclamen, hardy shrubs, grasses and herbs in the flowerbeds outside the school reception, making the area greener and more wildlife-friendly 🐝🌻🌱.

As we worked together, the children explained that the whole project had been their own idea. They told us they had even walked to the local B&Q to choose the plants themselves (with a little help from the shop's staff). Everything was funded by money they had won through the London Children's Flower Society's 'Growing Together Grant', which also covered the cost of compost, brightly coloured trowels and some rather cute penguin-motif gardening gloves!

Once all the planting was done, we helped give everything a good watering and the job was complete.

It was brilliant to see the children so engaged with the task and talking so confidently about their project. We hope they're really proud of what they've achieved – the flowerbeds look fantastic, and it's lovely to know the children have played such a big part in making their school a greener place 🌿🌼

Mr Davies sent us this message:

A huge thanks for the team’s support today - it was greatly appreciated and we’ve already had so many comments about the front of the school!

Thank you Mr Davies for inviting us to be involved.

We also loved having Lisa with us for her first task as a full member of team GoodGym Bexley. (You may remember Lisa and her husband Justin joined us a few weeks ago as honorary GGers in their official capacity as Mayor of Bexley and Consort.) Great to have you with us Lisa 🥳.

This afternoon we joined The Bee Conservation Trust, Discover Welling and Southeastern Trains to plant a host of bee-friendly plants at Welling Station.

With Ivar taking charge of the drill to create holes deep enough for the larger plants, the rest of us worked with trowels and a dibber to settle the seedlings into their new home.

We can't wait to see everything in bloom next spring and summer, when the flowers will be a brilliant source of forage for bumblebees 🐝🌼!

Coming up...

Wednesday 4 November – Putting up the Welling Sparkle stickers

Promoting Welling's Christmas market.
https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/putting-up-the-welling-sparkle-stickers-063d0797-a0a8-4e07-be10-06c420f143d9

Saturday 7 November – Clearing brambles, cleaning railings and coffee treats at The Exchange

Helping out at Erith's wonderful community venue.
https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/clearing-brambles-cleaning-railings-and-coffee-treats-at-the-exchange

Sunday 8 November – Lending a hand at Crossness Pumping Station

Helping to maintain this wonderful hidden gem of a museum.
https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/lending-a-hand-at-crossness-pumping-station

This week, we joined Jason, the gardener at Community Hospice, for a lovely session of cutting back plants and tidying up the edges of the pathways.

It wasn't just about making the gardens look neat and tidy (although they certainly looked much better afterwards!). By clearing overgrown plants from the paths, we also helped make them safer for everyone using them, reducing the risk of slips and trips.

Armed with gardening tools, plenty of enthusiasm and some good old-fashioned GoodGym teamwork, we got stuck in. And in just an hour, we made a real difference!

A little bit of time, a lot of teamwork and a lovely result. That's what GoodGym is all about! ❤️

Fancy seeing what you can achieve in an hour? Join us for one of our next GoodGym Bexley sessions and find out for yourself. Good company, fresh air and a chance to do something brilliant for your community. What's not to love?

After parkrun this morning, we headed to help Bexley Bike Club with their free children's BMX session.

While Johnny swept the colourful autumn leaves from the skills area, I registered the children and ran through bike safety checks with them.

Once the coaches had the children riding around, I was on photo duty - getting snaps of the youngsters in action.

It's so rewarding seeing the riders taking on challenges and growing in confidence with every pedal.

We couldn't stay as long as usual, as we were due at another task, but we left knowing that we'd helped the bike club team deliver a safe and enjoyable session.