Seven GoodGym members came together to help Long Lane Pastures,a nature reserve in the middle of Finchley. We met up with the friends of the Pastures Donald, Wayne and Maureen. They asked us to help to clear the paths of weeds and to rake up the recently cut long grass. It was a beautiful evening as we started our work. To our surprise Donald had remembered that it was the anniversary of the formation of Goodgym Barnet and that we had visited on our first mission five years ago. They had generously arranged a birthday cake for us to consume at the end of our task. Much appreciated and let's hope we can continue to help them in the years ahead.

keey active and doing good!

A group of Barnet goodgymmers got together near Henlys Corner in North London, at the site of a proposed Tiny Forest, to be planted by the council and environmental charity Earthwatch.

A Tiny Forest is a dense and rapidly growing native woodland in a small area. It will provide a protected habitat for wildlife, capture carbon, filter the air of harmful particulates and reduce flooding and soil loss. You can find out more about the benefits of a Tiny Forest on the Earthwatch website.

This Barnet tiny forest is scheduled to be planted this winter. GoodGym is going to play a big part in this project by engaging the local community to help with planting, fencing, weeding and generally looking after this Tiny Forest over the coming years.

Our first support mission was a straightforward litter pick. We fanned out across the site and got to work, uncovering a treasure trove of trash!

It was a lovely, sunny summer evening and after the litter pick we did some exercise in the fading sun. The group got very excited about the Tiny Forest project. We are all looking forward to taking part in this exciting environmental initiative.

Goodgym Barnet came together to help the Phoenix cinema save money removing graffiti from the building . It was touch and go with rain forecast right through the day but in the end the rain held off and the sun shone. We met with Owen, the duty manager, who provided all the materials for our work in removing the graffiti. Phoenix cinema is the oldest purpose-built cinema in the UK and it was a pleasure to help them in these difficult times. We finished in good time and were able to do a little fitness session and warm down. It was great to see some new joiners give them a cheer! Afterwards some of us enjoyed a drink on the balcony overlooking the cinema. It really is a special and historical building well worth visiting to see and enjoy one of its films. Thank you for doing some good, helping repair a historical building and important charity. We will be back to help again.