A small but mighty crew headed down to the riverside this evening to tackle a familiar invasive foe: Himalayan balsam.

After a run or cycle to the task location, we split up along the riverbank and got stuck into pulling up the plants before they have a chance to spread their seeds. The recent weather had left the ground soft, making it satisfying work as roots and all came free with a gentle tug.

Working our way along the path, we soon created impressive piles of balsam and opened up space for native plants to thrive.

With plenty of plants removed and the area looking noticeably clearer, we gathered for a group photo before heading to the memorial gardens for fitness, feeling pleased with another practical contribution to keeping our local green spaces in great shape.

Tonight we did some exercises around the circle then froze into different positions. It was then back to base for a stretch out.

We also congratulated all the impressive runners who completed races and relays over the weekend, cheered Mitch for doing his 600th deed and Neil his 100th, and welcomed Yashodh and Nada to their first group run.

Great effort from everyone involved!

The Land is on the edge of Haxby with a wonderful view of the Howardian Hills. Well done for Jake for running all the way to the task, some miles out of York, straight after work! We soon got stuck into shovelling the grit into barrows and carting it down a grassy track to make a stone track. It was a good decision to start laying the path a bit closer than the end of the road, a 5 minutes wobbly walk away! The sun soon came out and we focused on clearing the pile of grit that was blocking the mower's garage. It was a decent work out for all, so we celebrated our true Northern grit with cookies, iced buns, brownies and doughnuts. Well, it is Saturday! We will be back to do more, I'm sure!