Four goodgymers from different areas, whilst doing their own shopping, also picked up a few items and dropped for their local food bank.

Rachel, Laura and Jana spent an hour helping spruce up the pathway leading to the MILAAP day centre, which was covered in leaves, seeds, weeds and general debris along the edges.

After a bit of improvisation with the tools — including a snow shovel that turned out to be surprisingly excellent at scooping seeds — the team quickly got to work. Laura tackled the weeds, Rachel led the sweeping operation, while Jana helped gather debris, empty buckets and keep everything moving smoothly as the bin bags steadily piled up.

There were a few dramatic moments when overloaded bags split open, scattering seeds everywhere, but the team recovered quickly and kept spirits high.

By the end of the session, around six bin bags had been filled and the pathway was looking far clearer and more welcoming. Hopefully the residents at MILAAP will enjoy the refreshed entrance!

I volunteered at Riddlesdown parkrun with my mum who did her first parkrun there since pre Covid 😊

At Canbury Gardens, Levita and Eleanor helped out by filling large water barrels with water from the river using wheelbarrows and water canisters. The water would later be used to water the plants and garden patches around the area. The activity also gave us a great workout for the day and definitely made us use our muscles while carrying and moving the water around. What a powerful way to start the weekend!

It was a full-on session at Full Cycle this week, bolstered by some fantastic neighbouring support - a few members of the GoodGym Merton team cycled across the borough to lend a hand with the packed to-do list.

In the workshop, it was all hands on deck as we dove into the usual recycling of inner tubes and tyres. This included sorting through wheel rims and tackling the somewhat difficult job of removing stubborn rubber from the metal.

Outside, the mission felt like a high-stakes game of bike Tetris. We had to move a sea of cycles and untangle them from encroaching brambles just to create a workspace. Once we had the room, the team made short work of cutting back the overgrowth, sweeping up leaves, and clearing rubbish before neatly returning every bike to storage.

Heavy lifting, tricky logistics, and plenty of camaraderie: just another un-tyre-ing group session!

Today I arrived to assist in the parade to the Thames as part of the sardine festival, making sure all was well.