We started today's session by saying our geeky interest in honour of Embrace your Geekness day! There were mentions of spreadsheets, cloud spotting and jigsaws to name a few.

We also congratulated the group of goodgymers who completed the 58 mile ultra in the lakes in the heatwave and the group who ran up and down Snowdon despite their race being cancelled.

Mitch then led off a small splinter group to Acomb Library.This is what they got up to-

We arrived at the library not to new raised bed, but old rotten beams of wood. We quickly got to work moving them from the garden and out to the drive. These will now be used for the path at fishponds woods.

After half an hour the garden was left crystal clear.

The remainder of the group headed to New Walk to drag many sacks of grass to the collection point. In goodgym style this was completed much quicker than expected so we headed off for a bit of fun fitness in the form of goodgym scrabble.

Despite stretching it out we still had a nice early finish so a few thirsty folk headed to the pub where in true geek style, Paul showed some strava tricks which got us debating each others' popularity!

Five esteemed GoodGymmers volunteered to help York Museum Trust put on another of their parties in the park.

Rich and Pete, being used to a better class of customer, handled the premium gate, scanning and wrist banding the VIPs. This gave Pete ample opportunity to perfect his two finger technique as no one likes it too tight. We hand to turn away one pair who tried to bring a laptop in but they managed to get someone to look after it for the price if a kebab and were soon back in.

Meanwhile Carys and Mitch handled the masses on the main gate, for some reason depriving many of them of their deodorant - perhaps not the best plan. Jenna was in charge of pointing, but later found her GG spot of the night with Patrick Grant (from the Sewing Bee).

Despite many opportunities for mooning, we mostly managed to keep our clothes on (not wanting to create more washing for Joshua's mum), and finished in time to see Self Esteem, where Rich used the cheap excuse of a conga line to fondle Ed who he found in the crowd.

👋33 GoodGymmers gathered for tonight's group run. We were thrilled to welcome Kirsty to her first group run and hope to see her for many more!

🎉 Following that, what began as a distinct lack of things to celebrate turned into a diverse celebration, of new parkruns, birthdays and theatre appearances. We also need to acknowledge the brilliant Claire who got GoodGymmer of the month, not only for her incredible contribution to our very own Tiny Forest (which is absolutely thriving) but also her prize-winning running at her first ever race!

✌After some disgruntlement from Stef about the boring nature of the proposed naming and numbering off, we were invited to state our favourite thing about Stef. These compliments varied from the somewhat superficial (though still justified - Stef's shorts were very nice!) to the positively heartwarming. Allowances were (very justifiably) made for people who perhaps hadn't met Stef before. No such allowances for Steve Rice though, who mistakenly heard that we were chatting about our favourite fingerbowls (so had to say that as well as his favourite thing about Stef!)

🌱 After all that jollity, it was time to run to tonight's task. Ed led the run while Claire backmarked and in no time, we got to Acomb Primary. We were split into Team Courtyard and Team Forest School. Team Courtyard's task was to tidy up the courtyard (other than the floor, which some of the school children will be tackling shortly). Meanwhile, Team Forest School were making space by clearing anything low-hanging, in the way or likely to grow and block the space. Some people had saws, which they used very enthusiastically. Some people used their hands to (try) and pull up newly growing things. Some people tested out the hammocks (making sure they're safe for the children, obviously...) There was also the mission to identify sticks that could be used for den-building, which involved some of us trying to strip small branches off larger branches. It helped make us feel productive anyway...

🌿 About 5 minutes before our finish time, a new pile of sticks was identified, for taking to the rubbish pile. All hands were on deck and determined to finish as much of this task as possible, leading to some selective hearing on some parts...

📷 Time for a team photo and some playing cards-based fitness. Amy's team won, despite cries of foul play and burpees-based bias.

👏 Next, it was time to run back to base, stretch and head homewards/pubwards. We also heard about Jamie's incredible Leeds-Liverpool canal running adventure. More info to follow - we can't wait to hear how he gets on running over 120 miles! Thanks everyone, until next time!

Tonight’s mission took us to Fulford Ings, where two wheels and two feet united for another round in the fight against Himalayan balsam.

Our group split into two, with Ed leading the runners to the task while Vicky guided the cycling crew. After arriving at the beautiful riverside location, it was straight down to business. Armed with gloves and plenty of enthusiasm, we spread out across the Ings, pulling up as much balsam as we could before it had the chance to spread its seeds.

The distinctive pink flowers may look pretty, but this invasive plant crowds out native species, so every handful removed makes a real difference to the local habitat. Before long, piles of uprooted balsam were growing, and areas that had been thick with the plant were looking much clearer.

As always, the task flew by thanks to great teamwork, plenty of chats, and the satisfaction of seeing immediate results. With another productive evening completed, we headed home knowing we’d helped protect this special green space for wildlife and future visitors, with a few folk putting the ribbons around tansy friendly plants en route so the farmer wouldn't chop them down.

A big well done to everyone who ran, cycled, pulled, and piled. Same time next balsam season? 🌱🙌

The three of us turned up on a beautiful summers morning to help set up gazebos for Make Space for Girls. The charity aims to encourage more teenage girls into parks and create inclusive spaces.

We made quick work on the gazebos, and whilst there was variation on artistic vision (Ed and myself have none...), we managed to set up the stall for the event.