Subham rocked up first this morning, 09:44, with me hot on his heels, watching him go up the stairs to St Barnabus from the other side of the road. Then Paul rolled up on his bike out of nowhere a short while later, so we had a great little reunion over coffee in the foyer, bonding with some of the regulars about that classic North London competitive divide: Arsenal or Spurs?

Then the delivery arrived and we got stuck into unloading. This week saw: potatoes, carrots, onions, protein shakes, burgers, some kind of beef thing that didn't need fridging, soups, bananas, bread rolls, ciabbata rolls, and plenty more. We helped unload everything, then helped unpack things in fridges and store cupboards, then trotted off on our merry way.

Sadly, they've not had much fruit delivered to the Grocery this year, so we're going to try and work with Barnet Community Harvesters and others to get some fresh apples to them if we can, this month.

Also, Claire, Emily and Kenny are all away next week, so we're definitely needed - sign up soon if you're free!

The Phoenix Cinema had asked GoodGym Barnet to distribute leaflets for this film in an effort to support a community action screening and Q&A session. We decided to see the film ourselves.

I’ll admit I was initially a little cynical about Super Nature, but having seen it at the weekend,. I think I now understand much better what director Ed Sayers was trying to do.

The whole film is shot on Super 8, the old home-movie format many of us associate with the 1970s and 80s. A cartridge gives you only around two or three minutes of film and there is no recorded sound, so unlike a phone or digital camera you simply can’t keep filming everything. Sayers brought together more than 40 contributors across 25 countries to capture the natural world in this deliberately restricted way.

And perhaps the restriction is the point.

When you only have a tiny amount of film, you have to choose your moment. You spend more time actually looking, waiting and being present in the environment. It reminded me of taking photographs with film: every picture cost something, so you thought about it rather than firing off dozens of shots.

There is also something nostalgic about the grainy Super 8 image. Even the director said at the Q&A that this seems to affect younger people who never actually grew up with the format. It somehow makes what you are watching feel like a memory — and that becomes rather powerful when the subject is a natural world we are in danger of losing.

The film does show some very direct environmental threats: plastic in the oceans, threatened ecosystems and the last northern white rhinos. But I came away thinking there was another, less obvious message as well.

We live in a world where we constantly consume information — photographs, videos, messages, news and data. We record more and more but perhaps sometimes experience less. That endless appetite for more is not completely separate from the wider consumerism which is literally consuming the natural world.

I would have liked more time at the Q&A to explore the community side of this. Perhaps part of reconnecting with nature isn’t travelling across the world to see something spectacular. It is stopping, looking and becoming involved with what is around us — our parks, woods, gardens, birds, insects and local wildlife.

That links very nicely with GoodGym. We can actually do something: look after a local nature reserve, plant and care for trees, clear litter, support community organisations and simply become more aware of the natural world on our doorstep.

Maybe the lesson of Super Nature is quite simple: consume a little less, look a little longer — and get involved.

A great turnout of 12+ people for the regular Friday morning gardening session at Stephens House and Gardens.

This time I joined Heather and her team of specialist bramble-busters, trying to keep an area of the park under control. Armed with secateurs, rakes, spades and forks, we cut back the brambles and cleared the weeds.

We were working very close to one of the park’s special trees, a Ginkgo biloba. Sometimes called a “living fossil”, it comes from an ancient line of trees stretching back more than 200 million years, with fossil leaves looking remarkably like those we see today.

Having spotted Benedict Cumberbatch earlier that morning, our conversation topic was naturally close encounters with celebrities — always a good one!

After a couple of productive hours we headed back for the traditional tea and cake, this time with an extra reason to celebrate: gardener Ian’s birthday.

Another lovely morning getting outdoors, meeting people and helping to look after this special local park.

Super Nature film.. Super nature Reserve and super goodGym runners doing some good!

We gathered in the foyer of the Phoenix Cinema and welcomed two new GoodGym recruits—big shout-out to Edward and Neeral on their first session!

The Phoenix also gave us an emergency bundle of leaflets to distribute for Super Nature, a film celebrating the natural world, showing at 2pm on Saturday 5 September, followed by a Q&A with director Ed Sayers. The Phoenix is an important charitable community cinema, so please support it if you can. Find out more and book here⁠ https://www.phoenixcinema.co.uk/PhoenixCinemaLondon.dll/WhatsOn?f=634449

After warming up outside, we numbered up by sharing the television programmes that influenced us as children—from Teletubbies and Bagpuss to Star Trek.

We split into two teams and delivered all the leaflets along a nearby road before setting off at a good pace for the two-kilometre run to Glebelands Local Nature Reserve.

Glebelands is one of the last surviving parts of old Finchley Common and is a Grade I Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation. Its clay soil holds water, feeding natural springs, streams and seasonal ponds. These support rare wetland plants and wildlife, including great crested newts. It may look like a small patch of rough woodland, but it is one of Finchley’s most precious natural spaces.

Although the ground looked dry, subsurface water and mud meant that we couldn’t do the planned clearance work. Instead, we split into pairs for a litter pick and found a surprising amount of rubbish, particularly around a concrete structure that seemed to act as a litter magnet!

With our bags full, we headed back—an enjoyable evening supporting both our local cinema and an important local nature reserve.