Kelley Sharp
Windsor and Maidenhead
TaskForce
Doing good since December 2020
23Good deeds
45runs
61cheers
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Windsor and Maidenhead
Planting oak trees at New Thrift Wood
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.
Windsor and Maidenhead
A school, a museum and a garden of fantasy
Runners met at Bishopsgate in the Windsor Great Park with Kanika, Diya and Sara set off for a 2km walk towards the task. Matt, Nicola, Amanda and Juli enjoyed a 5km group fitness activity heading past the copper horse statue, through the park passing deer showing off their voices and impressive antlers while watching the setting sun create a brilliant photo opportunity every step of the way. After Kelley finding the start point she set off in hot pursuit and arrived with time to spare.
Meeting at the task together we saw the resident coffee station being set up with home roasted grounds and we set about a selection of task both inside and out. Weeding, moving big heavy picnic tables and museum cabinets from upstairs to downstairs in the original house built circa 1845.
Glass cabinets successfully moved, substantial wooden tables maneuvered down the stairs, picnic tables fed through gates and weeding by the barrowful. We then stopped for a well earned coffee in the dark and made the most of a torch lit gathering before wondering through the darkness home.
Those little tasks completed by multiple hands was very appreciated by the staff at the school and who knows, there may be a chance to return soon.
Kelley loves it! They've pretty much cheered the whole of GoodGym today. They get the badger badge for expert badgering.
Windsor and Maidenhead
Kms with K & M
They say good things come in small packages and that was the case this evening. Kelley and Matt joined me to make a small but enthusiastic team on our group run.
We warmed up near the Ockwells car park and then ran 4km on rural paths to our task location. We chose the route less trodden and although sticky clay paths made the going heavy, we were rewarded with a view of a deer. Our destination was the New Thrift Wood planting site. You could call this lovely spot a GoodGym home from home as we have had so many sessions here - harvesting acorns, planting acorns, planting more trees, weeding around the saplings, and also maintaining the path in nearby Little Thrift Wood.
This evening's task was meant to be gathering acorns, but the crop is poor this year, so instead we turned our hands to more sapling care: pulling up encroaching grasses around the trees planted last year to improve their chances of survival. All three of us have done this before so once we had found the spot where Tessa, Sheila and I left off on Friday, we got stuck in. It is quite a theraputic task and whilst our hands were busy with weeding, conversation flowed easily. As the sun set and the sky faded from pink to grey, we reluctantly tore ourselves away.
As we ran the more direct 1km back we completely lost the light, so we used head torches and run-lights to guide us. We finished the evening with a quick fitness session including running, jump squats, lunges, planks, high knees, jumping jacks and curtsey squats. Then we stretched and headed for home.
Thank you both for a lovely evening!
Windsor and Maidenhead
Gardening at the Royal School
This evening's session is happening inside the beautiful Great Park, which will be a real treat! A return to the school after the summer holidays with a number of tasks lined up.
Please note that unregistered cars are not allowed to drive through the park to the school, so you will need to arrive on foot or by bike. The nearest parking is 2km away at Bishopsgate, TW20 0XY.
You are welcome to use the GoodGym WhatsApp group to find a walking or running buddy for your journey to the school. If you're not in the WhatsApp group already and you want to join, just message Amy on 07939487106 with your number and she will invite you.
Our task for the evening is to help out with some gardening and outdoor maintenance at this little first school.
The school was set up in 1843 by her majesty Queen Victoria, and with its links to the crown you might be wondering whether we will be stealing work away from the Royal Gardeners. Worry not, the school is funded by RBWM rather than the Royal Estate, and with only 100 pupils it doesn't command a large budget. Despite their stunning location, the school relies heavily on volunteers to upkeep their historical site.
Don't forget your gardening gloves!
Windsor and Maidenhead
Run or walk to (not!) harvest acorns at Ockwells
Please note the earlier 6.15pm start time of this session.
Group runs are the best of GoodGym: getting fit and doing good all rolled into one, with plenty of laughter too. Just when you thought it couldn't get any better, this Tuesday evening session also includes a healthy dose of nature. Can't wait!
Our plan for the evening:
We meet at the car park at Ockwells Park for a quick warm up and briefing.
We set off on a 2-3km running route or a 1-2km walking route through the park to our task location. Like with all of our group runs, you can choose whether to run or walk. All paces are welcome and both groups will have a back marker to make sure no one is left alone.
We had hoped to be harvesting acorns, but our local acorn expert Alistair reports that this year's crop is only providing slim pickings, so instead we will be doing sapling care - weeding around the little trees planted last Winter, giving them space and light to thrive. Do bring gardening gloves!
When we've finished our task we all head back to our start location running or walking for a fun fitness session. On a tree themed evening our fitness session is likely to include a few planks, but we will also branch out into squats and other fun things. Sorry about all the (a)corny puns! We try to keep the fitness session fun and accessible, with lower/higher impact options to suit your fitness level.
We then have a stretch and to say our goodbyes. Sometimes there is cake.
Can't wait to see you there.. Do bring a head torch for when the sun goes down.
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