The gorgeous Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park covers 27 acres and is home to a wide range of wildlife and plants.

Volunteers offer support to Park Manager Ken and his team to help manage the site, including the maintenance of its many pathways.

16 GoodGymers gathered this evening to help remove cow parsley from one of the pathways.

We welcomed Jasand Carina to their first Monday night task before Ken greeted us with a short briefing, tonight's pun and some good guidance on the task ahead...

Why cow parsley?

Cow parsley can spread rapidly and dominate open spaces, overshadowing smaller plants. Managing its spread helps keep a balanced and varied landscape.

The team spent a productive hour in the overgrowth, performing many squats to carefully uproot the stems, and taking it in turns to wheel loads around the corner to the green waste pile, before hurling armfuls of greenery onto this great big green mountain.

By the end of the evening, pathway clearings were more visible (see Emma’s before and after pics) showing immediate results of tonight’s effort.

It was gone 8 when we gathered gloves, forks and wheelbarrows and headed to the nearest bench for our final group pic! Ambling back through the park, we concluded it was something of a relief to enjoy a task in the daylight, complete with warm sun.

Until next time.

A small but mighty team of five Tower Hamlets GoodGymers joined forces with the charity Missing People to bring some serious cheer to the London Marathon yesterday in our very own borough!

Stationed just after mile 16 on the Isle of Dogs on what was a scorcher of a day - and a tough part of the course where runners really start to dig deep – we brought the noise with plenty of sun, smiles, and shouted names. There were loads of GoodGym shoutouts too, with lots of runners lighting up when they spotted our red shirts!

It was a brilliant way to spend the day: supporting an amazing charity, cheering on some incredible efforts, and soaking up the brilliant atmosphere of marathon day.

Huge thanks to everyone who came along!