Three lovely volunteers came together at Charlton parkrun to lend a hand, taking on different roles. It was my very first time doing barcode scanning, and thanks to some friendly guidance (and the app downloaded just in time!), I was up and running in no time.

Another great early start, another chance to do something meaningful—and that’s what makes these mornings so special. Parkrun relies on volunteers to keep these free events going every Saturday, and if you’ve got the time, we’d really encourage you to give it a go.

With GoodGym, there are tasks to choose from. Want to get involved? Check out the parkrun and GoodGym websites.

Volunteering has a wonderful way of giving back to you as much as it does to the community—and that impact is pretty amazing.

Task done, it was selfie time—not to brag, but to encourage 😉 Happy volunteering, everyone. Take care!

A star-studded cast to celebrate GoodGym Greenwich's 10th Birthday!

An unseasonably mild Sunday morning greeted 18 goodgymers as we made our way to Brooklands school in Kidbrooke. Whilst the school is a little tucked away, the huge grounds provide plenty of outdoor space for the children and their families.

We joined a group of existing volunteers from the school, and were soon wheelbarrowing soil to the growing beds as well as clearing weeds. One of our target areas was an enclosure containing a pond; again involving clearing weeds, bracken and planks to free up the pond area for its proper use. Discovering a few baby dragons* added to the magic of the event, along with a confused toad and lots of ladybirds.

(* thankfully these turned out to be the non-fire breathing variety, which are Newts to us (!) They were carefully looked after by a member of the team to be returned to a safe habitat).

A busy hour soon runs out, so a final group photo provided the icing on the rake for GGG's birthday mission. Special welcome to Iyabo for your first good deed with us - and lovely that you could join us for our lunch to celebrate our birthday!

Coming up...

On Wednesday we're continuing our painting of the hall at Charlton Manor Primary School.

On Sunday we've got our (optional) group run and litter pick on Woolwich Common.

And the following Wednesday we're helping at St Richard's.

Thanks all & see you at the next task! ⭐

It's week two of the 2026 January Challenge, and this week's Wednesday group run took 12 GoodGymers to the Prince Phillip Maritime Collection Centre in Kidbrooke. This is one of our regular missions, often involving moving pallets, ceiling panels & boats, but tonight's task was an adventure in winter gardening.

We got to the task ready for anything after a run from Charlton House, where we were briefed on our tasks, including some weeding of the raised beds, a spot of litterpicking, and turning of the compost heap - you could say we were met with a worm welcome...! The compost project involved removing the top layer of vegetation, spreading the soil beneath on the plant beds, and replacing that plant matter back - a quick biogeography lesson in practice for us, and a great growing environment for the fresh plants come spring!

As usual, time slipped through our gardening gloved fingers, so it was time for a group photo and back to our roots. Great work all & see you soon 😊

Ps. check out our insta video to see an overview of the session!

Coming up...

As well as our regular Parkruns volunteering, on Saturday we have leafleting for the White Swan and Sunday is our 10th birthday celebration when we'll be renovating the pond at Brooklands and heading to Sapori's for pizza afterwards!

Next wednesday we're painting at Charlton Manor Primary School.!