This evening we decided jobs based on who looked like they were dressed for winter and summer! People looking well wrapped with assigned car washing duties while the short wearers, ouchie hand person and a birthday Wilson went up to the loft. In the loft we split into a painting team and a t-shirt sorting team. The t-shirt cupboard was the Mary Poppins bag of cupboards with seemingly endless varieties of t-shirts to organise. The painters were stuck with other quandaries such as how to get a very stuck sticky label off and how to paint both sides in one evening. We just about got everything folded up and and base coated in time. The beginnings of a human fruit machine ready for the summer events!

Wishing a big Happy Birthday to Wilson and Leszek

Another day helping Southampton City farm with their endless wood chip pile! It was a lovely evening in the sunshine. We are certainly enjoying the lighter nights and warmer weather. Many hands meant we were able to shift lots of wheelbarrows full and top up the paths around the farm. It didn't look like we'd actually made a dent in the pile at the end though so we are sure we will be back again soon to do some more! We had just enough time to inspect the wisteria in full bloom before it was time to head off.

What a fantastic session joining Mac and other volunteers at Millers Pond Nature Reserve/ Sholing Valleys Study Centre to plant trees around this vital green space allowing nature to thrive. Nicola, Leszek, Ashleigh and Stephanie had great fun planting a lovely variety of trees Dog Wood, Hazel, Hawthorn and more. We then dug up a few other saplings which had grown up in the wrong place although a few were rather reluctant to come out of the ground. Leszek and Nicola also took part in the afternoon litter pick around the reserve. We will return to see how the new saplings are getting on later in the year.

This task was led by Final Straw, a fantastic charity organization fighting plastic pollution. We joined them along the Itchen River at a spot where thousands upon thousands of nurdles wash up. It required nimble fingers to collect as many nurdles as possible for Final Straw to use in their school visits. These tiny pieces of plastic are tough to pick up, making beach cleaning seem daunting, but every effort counts.

Wilson had the best find of the morning—a plastic AEP training bullet!

Friday fun volunteering at Ludlow school fete . Wilson ran the “Hook a Lollipop” game, where children had five hoops to toss onto a colourful board covered in lollipops—if a hoop landed over a sweet, they won it! Meanwhile, Leszek managed the “Ball in the Hole” challenge, where kids had three chances to throw a ball through either a small or large hole to claim a prize. Both games brought smiles and a steady stream of excited players. It was a lovely experience and 2 hours passed really quickly.

Tonight we had a last minute switch of task to tidy the car park flower beds up. We'll have to come back soon to sort out the Acorns garden again. Armed with many appropriate gardening tools and Sarah's chisel (trick of the trade!) we set to work. The flower beds are part of a sensory garden so we got to appreciate all the lovely smelling herbs as we tried to free then from the weeds. We don't know what was more tricky, getting the grass out of the dry soil or not pulling all the plants apart that were tangled in the bind weed! We were rewarded for our efforts with some lovely bunches of roses in need of new homes. We look forward to joining Rose Road again next month.