During a mild late-September evening, a core group of five GoodGymers laced up their trainers and ran out to join Round Hill Society committee member Dominic—a true force of nature in the local neighbourhood.

The Autumn Community Clear-up is now officially done (Ehm, almost)! The team tackled the Cats’ Creep first, clearing away the worst of the overhanging branches to keep the pathway clear. From there, we channelled our best energy into scraping weeds along Round Hill Crescent, successfully clearing an impressive 80 metres of pavement.

Usually, a massive surge of weeds often strikes after the late summer rains (!) throughout August and September. Scraping during this specific autumn window is crucial, as it targets winter annuals and perennials right before they go dormant. Fortunately, GoodGym never goes dormant! We had a fantastic session, and I reckon we will be back for similar action very soon.

Shout-out to GoodGymer Sarah on hitting the big 50 on the Heroes Leaderboard! 🏃‍♀️✨

Driven by community spirit, GoodGym fuses fitness and volunteering by connecting GoodGymers with local partners and volunteers through a "one workforce approach." I borrow that brilliant term 😉 from yesterday’s Active Sussex Conference, which showcased the innovative Stronger for Life programme. This award-winning initiative improves strength and balance, prevents falls, and combats muscle loss from inactivity among older adults and stroke recovery patients.

Join GoodGym for another session!

Back at Miss V’s place for another mission, and today’s main event was a proper test of strength: swapping out her old, stained floral rug so she could send it off to be washed, and replacing it with a fresh patterned one!

Miss V warned me upfront that this was strictly meant to be a two-person job. Between the bed, the heavy sofa loaded up with clothes and toys, and very tight quarters in the room, there wasn't even enough floor space to move all the items out of the way in one go. She generously offered to lend a hand, but knowing how tough of a job it was, I insisted on giving it a shot solo first to spare her the heavy lifting.

Before diving into the main event, Miss V got me warmed up with a couple of handy small tasks: tightening up loose screws on a shoe rack and fixing up a mop handle.

Then came the real workout:

Clearing & Maneuvering: Space was so limited that I had to shift items off the old stained rug bit by bit while working around the heavy bed and sofa.

The One-Handed Sofa Hoist: Since the bulky sofa couldn't be cleared out of the room entirely, I had to physically lift one side of the sofa up with one hand while using the other hand to slide the old rug out from underneath!

The Precision Rollout: I repeated the same heavy-lifting maneuver to maneuver the new blue-and-gold patterned rug right into the exact position of the old one, rolling it out smoothly beneath the furniture legs.

Mission Accomplished: Got the fresh rug fully laid flat and seamlessly fitted under the sofa, then rolled up the old stained one and strapped it neat and tidy so it's completely ready for its cleaning trip.

By the time I finished, I was definitely breaking a sweat! Seeing the effort, Miss V kindly refreshed me with a delicious peach/orange sparkling drink and some tasty treats to celebrate the win. Another challenging mission successfully conquered!

From our occasional meeting point at the Peace Statue, it was a short and sweet 300m trek for seven Brightonian GoodGymers to Waterloo Street Community Garden, including newbie Chris - welcome!

Once there, we got stuck into some enthusiastic bulb planting, putting down the groundwork now for a colourful spring display.

We had a friendly black cat keeping a close eye on proceedings. But further investigation revealed that said cat is the reason the garden doesn’t have any bird feeders: our feline friend enjoys playing with them (the local birds, that is, not the feeding devices).

With all the bulbs planted across big pots, little pots, round pots and long pots, it was time to head to nearby Bottoms Rest for a well-earned drink, post-run recovery and a chit chat.

What a purr-fect evening.

A dedicated team of GoodGym volunteers headed to One Church this Sunday to help out in the kitchen for their weekly community gathering. Our mission? To prep a massive, comforting feast of vegetable and beef stew to feed the local community.

The shift started as a trio, with the three of us arriving sleeves rolled up. Because the head chef was arriving a little later, we had to make a few quick executive decisions just to get things moving and prep stations set up! Once the chef arrived, the cooking officially kicked off, and our trio officially upgraded to a four-man band. From there, the quartet got straight to work at the chopping stations.

There was an absolute mountain of fresh produce waiting for us, but we sliced, diced, and chopped our way through bags of carrots, potatoes, onions, and seasonal veggies. With the vegetables prepped and the beef ready, everything went into the giant simmering pots, quickly filling the kitchen with the rich, mouth-watering aroma of a hearty Sunday stew. It was a fantastic, high-energy session filled with great conversation and brilliant teamwork.

A good day for a GoodGym session.

A small, yet mighty group of 7 GoodGymers ran and cycled to Vale Park in Portslade to do one of the more favourite tasks, helping out Friends of Vale Park with their glorious rose beds, which are dotted all over the community Park.

We spent time weeding the rose beds, and doing some dead heading in order to try and promote autumn blooms before the winter draws in.

The turn of the seasons was very evident, with dusk closing in and a slight chill in the air by the end of the task. We had built up a good pile of weeds and made the roses look their gorgeous best again.

After the task the team walked and jogged the short distance to the Foghorn pub for a well deserved social, and to celebrate Ruth's 50th good deed!

Join GoodGym Brighton for another session!

How many cigarette butts can you pick up in just 15 minutes? ⏱️

That was the challenge thrown down by our host, Melanie from The Green Centre Brighton, when the GoodGym and Active Sussex crews teamed up at The Level this past Tuesday.

Even though it started pouring right at 1pm (classic British weather! 🌧️), everyone rolled up their sleeves for the Green Centre’s Green Spaces Programme. The mission? Show some love to our local park and clear out as much litter as possible.

In just a quarter of an hour, every single volunteer bagged between 75g and 100 g of cigarette butts, with Mac leading the charge! It might sound like a small dent, but it’s a massive win for Keep Britain Tidy's Cigarette Butts Are Rubbish Campaign. Believe it or not, cigarette butts are the UK's biggest litter problem, with an estimated 2.4 million of them dropped on England's high streets at any given moment, despite a decreasing number of adults who smoke regularly.

In total we collected 14.54 kgs of litter.

General waste: 7.37 kgs (incinerated at Newhaven recovering energy to create electricity) Aluminium Cans: 0.86 kgs (weighed in at Richardson's scrap metal yard) Plastic: 1.29 kgs (recycled) Glass: 5.02 kgs (recycled) Cigarette butts: 1,250 Kg - this was rounded down slightly because everything was wet. (included in general waste)

This hands-on GoodGym community mission was the perfect way for both groups to put their eco-goals into action! GoodGym aims to make a positive environmental impact by combining exercise with conservation tasks that increase biodiversity and green spaces. Similarly, among their core actions since signing their Environmental Sustainability Commitment, Active Sussex are embedding eco-friendly practices into daily operations, engaging local sports networks, and advocating for better access to quality blue and green spaces.

Taking part in this park clearance was the perfect opportunity to "walk the talk." By maintaining and improving the city's green spaces, we help ensure these vital areas remain clean, safe, and welcoming places for everyone to get outdoors and stay active. 🌿🏃‍♂️

Active Sussex, you are welcome to join us again anytime!