4 GoodGymers swept and mopped the large FoodBank floor, scrubbed a dirty table and cleaned up an office area....all while keeping out of the way of a Brownie Pack who had come for a tour and to help out with moving stock.

In very little time we left the building looking and smelling much better than when we entered!

In support of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, 7 goodgymers carried out a Beewalk; gathering data on bumblebee populations in Colchester’s Castle Park. Welcoming new members, Sarah and Alexandra, Helen briefed everyone on the purpose of the project and about bee identification. A perfect hot summer evening in the park, we set off from the bandstand on the 2km transect walk. Bronwyn recorded the sightings we all made identifying various species, their caste and population. All Goodgymers chatted about what they were observing whether bee species or plant or flower type; we all learnt new information about common things around us. Stu uploaded the data gathered onto the beewalk database to add much needed support for this wonderful, much needed animal that is becoming increasingly uncommon in our changing world. Anyone can get involved in this citizen science project by following the link https://beewalk.org.uk

7 of us hit the streets and parks of Colchester to remove as much litter as we could. Great to see Ella again, and sorry Vanessa we didn't find you a suitable souvenir!

3 GoodGymers swept, mopped and vaccumed the FoodBank floor.

Great to meet Sarah, who straight away got stuck in sweeping the warehouse and vacuuming the office area, making it a nicer environment for the staff and volunteers to come into tomorrow.

We'll be back at the FoodBank again at the start of July, next week is a litter pick in town.

6 GoodGymers met 4 Colchester in Bloomers on a sunny Tuesday evening to prepare the planters along the high street for their summer bedding.

The task seemed simple to start with... primulas and pansy in a bag for replanting elsewhere, curry plants retained in planters, pretty greeny pink plant to be dug up but kept, weeds and dead ivy dug out and chucked....between us I think we understood most of the instructions, and then it turned out Haithm had gardening expertise which he put to good use!

The real challenge of the evening was removing the dead ivy from the top layer without damaging the planters or the special fabric in the bottom which distributed the water....with hefty roots in rock hard soil Ray, Haithm and Jack got their workouts completed for the evening!

Looking forward to seeing the plants that go in tomorrow next time I'm in town.

4 GoodGymers headed to Old Heath Rec this morning to soak up the sun and support 114 Junior Park Runners. The youngsters showed impressive dedication to running in the heat, with the first finisher taking just over 7 minutes to complete the 2k run. Great to see you all Vanessa, Frazer and Rowan, and the youngsters really appreciated your encouragement.

p.s. what do you think of Gemini's ability to write a run title with a pun?!

5 GoodGymers met at the Mercury and headed down towards the Meanwhile Garden outside Firstsite under strict orders not to pick any litter up on the way. We couldn't resist however when we noticed a whole load of blue roll and paper blowing about (presumably a split recycling bag) and made a swift improvement to the precinct.

We were pleasantly surprised that the Meanwhile Garden had much less litter than last time we were there, and we were even helped out by a member of the public who was enjoying the garden and wanted to make sure it stayed that way.

We headed down East Hill, this time taking our time to chat and pick up bits on the way and then finished off clearing the area around a children's play park near the river.

Top points for interesting finds go to Haidee and the abandoned jacket and Vanessa and an abandoned Octopus. Lovely to meet Ian for the first time as well.

There's no task next Tuesday, but we will be at the Junior Park Run this Sunday, and then back in town Tuesday 2nd June to clear the planters ready for summer bedding.

5 GoodGymers met in town on a surprisingly pleasant May evening and removed old plants from the towers by the bus station. Following weeks of no rain the soil was dried solid, but we found it quite therapeutic breaking it up over a good chinwag.

Before long the boxes were free from plants, weeds and litter, and full of soft soil ready for a team of volunteer gardeners to come in and plant up new flowers.

We will be repeating this task along the High Street on the 2nd June, ready for more new planting the following day. Sign up if you can help out as with 10 large boxes spread out it will be useful to have a big group!