Jordan Tolner

Help Wild Maidenhead to maintain the 'nectar bar' planted in Kidwells Park earlier this year. We will be working in the area between the pond and the tennis courts, strimming, raking and tidying. Don't forget your gardening gloves.

The Friends of Maidenhead Waterways aim to restore and enlarge waterways through the town centre, making them accessible for everyone to enjoy, whether by boat, on foot or by bicycle.

Join a Saturday morning work party using secateurs, rakes, nets, and possibly waders or boats to clear litter, debris and weeds from the streams and adjacent footpaths. A waterways session always promises to be a great workout and real adventure!

In addition to the risks outlined in the community mission training and the general guidelines for safety for group sessions (see links below) please also be aware of the following safety advice:

• We'll be working near water and potentially on steep and/or muddy banks. To ensure we avoid slips, trips and falls into the water, please look out for yourself, be aware of surroundings at all times and wear appropriate footwear.
• Be prepared to get quite wet and possibly splattered with mud!
• Long trousers and sleeves are recommended to protect against nettles and brambles.
• No lone working - please stay in sight of each other.
• Please avoid disturbing wildlife such as birds as you work.
• Don't forget your gardening gloves!

Our meeting place is TBC, but likely to be in Maidenhead town centre or near one of the streams between Maidenhead and Cookham. Location will be confirmed by email to all sign-ups by the Friday at the latest. Parking will be available if needed. If you have any concerns about the location please contact amylovell@goodgym.org. Please arrive promptly by 8.45am for the safety briefing.

Please sign up by the Wednesday before so we know numbers and have time to organise kit such as waders.

Remember back in Summer 2020, when GoodGym helped harvest loads of acorns from the beautiful old oaks in Ockwells Park? Well, Alistair, who works with the RBWM countryside team, took those acorns home and gave them lots of love and now he has 150 plucky little oak saplings ready to return to Ockwells.

The plan for this session is to meet in the Ockwells car park at 10.30am. If it is your first GoodGym session, look out for friendly faces and red GoodGym t-shirts. We will then walk together approximately 1km to the New Thrift Wood site. Conditions may be wet, boggy and uneven underfoot, so you might want to wear boots rather than trainers.

We will meet Alistair at the planting site and he will set us up with the tools and skills we'll need to launch the oak saplings in their new home. Alistair has become rather fond of his green babies, so we won't just be chucking them in the ground. They will get the full star treatment with mulch and guards to protect them from animals and weeds.

The long-term aim is for New Thrift Wood to fill a gap between Ockwells' existing Thrift Wood and the similarly ancient and bio-diverse woodland owned by the neighbouring turf farmers. This swathe of woodland will create a great haven for flora and fauna, as well as helping fight the battle against climate change. We are unlikely to see the site mature within our lifetimes, but we hope it will be appreciated by future generations... and in the meantime we'll certainly enjoy a social morning of planting and soaking up nature!

We expect to be back in the car park by 1pm, but if you know your way around the park and need to leave sooner then you may do so.

The Friends of Maidenhead Waterways aim to restore and enlarge waterways through the town centre, making them accessible for everyone to enjoy, whether by boat, on foot or by bicycle.

Join a Saturday morning work party using secateurs, rakes, nets, and possibly waders or boats to clear litter, debris and weeds from the streams and adjacent footpaths. A waterways session always promises to be a great workout and real adventure!

In addition to the risks outlined in the community mission training and the general guidelines for safety for group sessions (see links below) please also be aware of the following safety advice:

• We'll be working near water and potentially on steep and/or muddy banks. To ensure we avoid slips, trips and falls into the water, please look out for yourself, be aware of surroundings at all times and wear appropriate footwear.
• Be prepared to get quite wet and possibly splattered with mud!
• Long trousers and sleeves are recommended to protect against nettles and brambles.
• No lone working - please stay in sight of each other.
• Please avoid disturbing wildlife such as birds as you work.
• Don't forget your gardening gloves!

Our meeting place is TBC, but likely to be in Maidenhead town centre or near one of the streams between Maidenhead and Cookham. Location will be confirmed by email to all sign-ups by the Friday at the latest. Parking will be available if needed. If you have any concerns about the location please contact amylovell@goodgym.org. Please arrive promptly by 8.45am for the safety briefing.

Please sign up by the Wednesday before so we know numbers and have time to organise kit such as waders.

Burchetts Green CE Infant School are welcoming us into their lovely leafy grounds to help with a number of jobs.

Meet the group at the school at 7pm, OR meet here at the National Trust car park next to Pinkneys Green Cricket Club at 6.30pm for a sociable run to the school. The distance is 3km out and 3km back on lovely rural trails. We will have a back-marker to make sure no one gets left behind - all paces are welcome!

Please let Amy know in the comments below if you wish to join the run to and from the task.