Holiday season has arrived, which means Harvest time is on its way too, and the Community Garden at Maryon Wilson park in Charlton is looking amazing, brimming with flowers as well as crops ranging from cucumbers to sweet peas, and courgettes to rhubarb.

Today was our monthly mission here, and a great catch up with Tim and Edna. Our main task was chopping back overhanging foliage, bind weed and similar tree growth to help make the pathways easier to navigate. (Some long armed tree-lopping-choppers, which is possibly not the technical term, were a massive help with the higher branches...!)

A good old sweep up completed our work, so it was time for tea and snacks (massive thanks to Edna) and out through the woods to the rest of the weekend 😎

Arthur keeps saying we need to bring our litter picks down to the path to Hornfair Park near our home and today I took him up on it and we spent an hour clearing the pathway and tackling a particularly grim corner of rubbish which needs a second go. A lovely lady gave him some sweets for his efforts which made it all even more worthwhile!

On a sunny Wednesday evening, the GoodGym Greenwich gang laced up and set off on an uphill mission! Our run took us up the ever-challenging Shooters Hill, to the Memorial Hospital where we were met by Maira and trundled with our tools to the lovely woodland path. Our job for the evening was to move as much woodchip as possible down to the new seating area for the regular woodland sessions for patients and staff in the hospital.

Buckets and wheelbarrows at the ready, we teamed up and got to work. Some shovelled away and others navigated the twists and turns down the path with wheelbarrows and myself and Ivar with a big old crate on wheels that made us feel like we were bobsleighing. Cool runnings at its finest.

The new seating area is looking great, and our efforts are helping make the space less muddy and even more welcoming for everyone who visits this peaceful green corner of Greenwich. With plenty of laughs, a bit of sweat, and a solid upper-body workout thrown in, we regrouped for a quick photo and enjoyed a breezy jog back down the hill.

Next week we're back to help out at Glyndon!

Until next time 😊

Rachel

Everyone loves a new GoodGym Task, and tonight's was a summery evening treat, as 7 GoodGym-ers made their way up Shooters Hill to The Memorial Hospital, where our tasks awaited us in various shapes and sizes, leading us to hidden depths on the outskirts of Oxleas Woods.

After a briefing from the venue team, Maira and Karen, we got stuck in with litter picking, tearing up brambles and shovelling woodchip for distribution over some ivy growth. Others hacked away at gnarly tree roots which had evil intentions to trip unwary travellers on their route through the woods.

Our time had soon run out, so we wandered back to base, listening to stories of castle ruins and hidden lakes in the woodlands.

Mission accomplished, the run back down the hill was much kinder and it's time to say Au Revoir, until the next task!

Special welcome to Jia for your first good deed with us - great to have you join the group and Sam, kudos for your second good deed in a week - lovely to have you back with us!

Next wednesday we've got another new task at a school in Greenwich and this sunday we've got some more woodland work at Westcombe Woods- hope to see you soon!

This weekend marked the 1st anniversary of the fantastic Hornfair Junior Parkrun, and five enthusiastic GoodGymers: Jenny, Khai, Julian, Marta and myself joined the celebrations by volunteering in a variety of roles. As always, it was a fun and rewarding morning supporting the local running community. To mark the special occasion, Race Director Sheralee proposed a unique twist: a fun run for adults around the same course usually reserved for the junior runners. What made it extra special? This time, the kids took over as marshals, cheering us on with boundless energy and encouragement. A delightful role reversal that brought plenty of smiles! We did good, had fun, and enjoyed the strong sense of camaraderie that defines this wonderful community event. And what’s a birthday celebration without a few treats? There were cakes, chocolates, and sweets galore—fuel for runners and volunteers alike, and a sweet way to top off the morning!

A big thank you to everyone at Hornfair Junior Parkrun for making it such a memorable morning. Happy 1st Anniversary, and here’s to many more!

Until next time! 👋🏼😃 - Cecilia 🍀

This morning, seven of us congregated at the coffee shop, most of the group having already good deeded at the junior parkrun (happy 1st birthday Hornfair!)

We enjoyed a leisurely run - much nicer in the slightly cooler weather - to Mycenae Gardens where we met Vic and continued pulling up weeds. Most of them were small but pernicious alkanet and the like but Kerry managed to find a innocuous looking weed, connected to the biggest root I've seen in a while which was making headway on strangling a tree. Satisfying work and makes sense of the title of the report 🥳💪

After a while of weeding, we had a lovely slice of cake and made our way to Pistachio in the park for a nice coffee in the garden. What a treat.

Good luck to Marta on the long run today and Vic on the dog sitting!

On Wednesday we're back at the Memorial Hospital.

Until next time,

Rachel 😁👋🏼