This month's visit to Holy Trinity Lamorbey Primary School was a fun inside - outside double act.

Inside, Team Paint picked up classroom decorating where we left off last time. With a couple of walls already done, we wanted to finish the rest to leave the space looking clean, warm and ready for learning.

Outdoors, Team Green took advantage of the warm-ish evening, sawing branches from a felled tree into short lengths that will be used to make wildlife-friendly mini dead-hedges 🐛🪲 and cosy homes for hedgehogs 🦔.

The hour flew past and we packed away paint, brushes and rollers and collected up saws and loppers, then posed for the traditional team photo in the fading light.

Just before leaving, Vice Principal Jane offered us seedling cherry trees that pupils had grown from stones collected in last year's bumper crop of fruit from the tree in their outdoor learning area. Susan, Caroline and Simon headed home, very pleased with these unexpected gifts 🪴.

Over the summer months we're looking forward more outdoor projects at the school... fingers crossed some of them line up with this year’s cherry season! 🍒

It was a brisk and blustery one in Danson Park on Saturday, but that didn’t stop the team from getting stuck in. Robert and I were especially pleased to welcome two new GoodGym Bexley members, Zara and Ian, to their very first task — and what a great one to start with!

As part of our ongoing collaboration with the brilliant Friends of Danson Park, we rolled up our sleeves to help make our beloved park even more beautiful (and biodiverse!), as we got involved in planting around 300 plugs of Yellow Rattle in the rock garden.

If you haven’t come across Yellow Rattle before, it’s a bit of a quiet hero. By drawing nutrients from dominant grasses, it helps create space for wildflowers to thrive, boosting biodiversity and providing a valuable nectar source for pollinators. A small plant with a big impact!

The ground, however, had other ideas… with no rain recently, the soil had turned impressively stubborn. So much so that Ian, in a heroic first-task effort, managed to break a trowel while trying to get those plugs in the ground 💪🌱. (Don’t worry — we’ve got photographic evidence.) Safe to say, he passed his GoodGym initiation with flying colours!

Despite the chilly wind, spirits were high, tools (mostly) survived, and it was fantastic to see new faces getting involved from the get-go.

Huge thanks to everyone who came along, and a big welcome again to Zara and Ian. Hope this is the first of many tasks with us!

Sidcup Station. 10am.

Six gloved-up GoodGymers met Colin and Sue from Sidcup BID to help tidy up a patch of ground outside the ticket hall. With Sidcup a finalist in Britain in Bloom (Small Town category), it’s full steam ahead to get everything looking its best ahead of judging in July.

Today was all about digging out weeds, collecting up litter and turning over the soil, creating the perfect platform for seeds and plants that will bring some first class floral cheer to the area.

Breaking into the hard soil and squatting to pick up the liberated weeds proved to be a seriously good workout for legs and glutes! So too was collecting it all into bags destined for the green waste depot.

This was one of those satisfying tasks where the before-and-after difference was plain to see although you'll have to take my word for it as I forgot to take photos! However, I did get a pic of the tribute to a railway worker that we revealed. And it was nice that lots of passers-by said 'thank you' for our work.

After handing back the tools and getting a team photo, we said goodbye to Sue and Colin, and made our departure round the corner to En'route for coffee. A lovely way to round off the morning.

We're hoping to stay on board for destination Britain in Bloom, so watch this space! We'd love to have you along for the ride.

Peter was at Avery Hill parkrun this morning, keeping things quiet during during the briefing, and scanning barcodes for all the finishing runners and walkers.

Helping out at parkrun is a great way to get involved in your local community. You don't even have to like running - just enjoy the occasion, smiles and conversation.

It's even better doing it through GoodGym as you'll not only get a parkrun volunteering credit, you'll get a GoodGym one too. Double rewards and twice the feel-good factor!

They say the sequel is never as good as the original, well we disagree.

Back for round two of our leafletting mission for the upcoming mini kids marathon in support of the Community Hospice, we returned to the streets of Welling and the scenic surroundings of Danson Park.

We were cheered on by a number of feline friends - every road seemed to come with its own supervisory cat or two, perching on fences, or patrolling pavements. Whether they were approving of our efforts or just hoping to be petted remains unclear.

The task was simple, cover as much ground as possible, spread the word, and get those steps in. With each leaflet delivered, we’re hoping to boost turnout for a fantastic cause, supporting the brilliant work of the Hospice.

Of course, it wouldn’t be GoodGym without the fitness element. Between brisk walking, tactical route planning, and the occasional “have we already done this house?” moment, it all added up to a solid workout in aid of a good cause.

Same task, similar area, but the question on everyone’s lips, could this sequel turn into a trilogy?

The monthly conservation session with the Friends of Lesnes Abbey and Woods is always a feel-good Sunday morning!

Coming from volunteering at junior parkrun just a stone's throw away, we grabbed a coffee from Chestnuts Kiosk before signing in with Paul, who was leading today’s session. Once the rest of the FOLAW volunteers arrived, we set off towards The Heath. Pushing a wheelbarrow full of tools uphill through the woods definitely got the heart rate going 💪. It was a lovely walk with swathes of bluebells lining the path on both sides. Stunning.

Once at the top, Paul gave us a quick refresher on tool safety - short and sweet since we were all regulars - and we got to work cutting back holly and brambles, and pulling up creeping ivy and honeysuckle. There wasn't any bracken to battle this time as it's a bit early in the season, but there was still plenty to keep us busy!

This is an ongoing project to clear more invasive plants so that native heather can thrive and give a more diverse habitat for wildlife.

Every so often we loaded up the wheelbarrow and transported the cuttings to a nearby pile where they’ll rot down naturally. GoodGym strength training in action!

No sign of the Easter Bunny, but we did spot a slow worm hiding under one of the shelters in the undergrowth. Now that was an Easter treat!