Tonight we had the great opportunity to go to two different charities as both could only take a limited number of volunteers. So that's what we did, we split the group in two and went to Refugee Action Kingston and Growbaby.

Levita reports about the task at Refugee Action Kingston

Louise, Sekar, and Levita supported the team by sorting through donated clothes and separating items suitable for those seeking assistance. Saber worked with the girls to create a peaceful and clean corner where refugees could read the Quran whenever they wished. Dave and Jonathan gladly used their strength and handyman skills to repair the bulletin boards, making them neat and presentable. It was indeed a fruitful and rewarding evening.

Emma reports about the task at Refugee Action Kingston

A crew of GoodGymers made their way on bike or on foot to Growbaby, rolling up our sleeves to bring order to the wonderful chaos of donations they have recently received.

A key job was to pack away the winter coats and set up a rail of spring coats and wellies - ready for some April shower puddle stomping! As a charity which provides free clothes and equipment for little ones aged 0–5, some of us were needed in the stock room to match up tiny shoes - always a satisfying task - give the nappy and milk stores a proper tidy, and sort through bags of new donations to get everything ready for the families who need them.

Better book in our next seasonal trip for the summer hat and sandal sort-out?

8 good gymers did their good deed today, whilist thinking off others, they dropped their donations off for their local foodbank.

Saturday 4 GoodGymers met with the Canbury Community Garden team to attend to much needed garden duties. One team armed with spades and garden forks took on the 3 compost bays, digging, lifting, tossing, turning compost, and then recovering the compost bays with a blanket of fresh straw. Meanwhile the second team attended to the pond area, clearing fallen leaves, and mud, fallen rocks, and re-securing the pond liner. Topped up the pond with water collected from the swollen, fast moving river. A job well done!

I went to Kingston today to do some gardening 👩‍🌾 tidy ups for Mr M. It was unusually dry and warm morning today which made it just perfect to take on some work outside.

I arrived at exactly 9 am 👌 and Mr M opened the door to welcome me even before I managed to ring bell 🔔. We grabbed some tools and shoes 👞 from downstairs and then went upstairs to the balcony. There were four flowerpots there that required a clean up. I removed the bark mulch from the surface, removed weeds and dead 💀 plants, then gave the soil a bit of fluff get it ready for the new plants 🌷 It has taken me about 35 mins.

Then we went downstairs to the front of the house for around 20 mins. I gave it all a little sweep 🧹 (as some of the soil fell down from the balcony) and also removed weeds 🌱 growing close to the building. Mr M wanted to remove the moss from in-between the tiles and showed me his high pressure washer but decided that this could be something to be done next time.

Instead, he led me to the backgarden, where I was first tasked to gather the leaves 🍂 and branches that fell on the ground. Then I cut back some of the brambles from bushes growing in Mr M's neighbour's garden (spiky!). Together with Mr M we collected the garden waste and taken two big bin bags outside to the bin. That's was a great teamwork there.

Mr M used my full 90 min slot 🙂 and he seemed to be very happy with the outcome. He did ask me if he can still ask for help with some additional work in the garden. He was very stubborn to give me some of the tulips 🌷 from his kitchen to express his gratitude. It was a very heart warming ❤️ morning for me.

After what seems like endless rain this year, today we enjoyed a crisp, dry evening - perfect for a spot of bramble bashing. With head torches on and spirits high, the team gathered to tackle a brambly jungle that had been growing way too confident in its ability to take over the space earmarked for pollinator planting. We met Georgina, Kingston's new Biodiversity Officer, who talked us through the task and handed out much needed gloves, loppers and waste bags. We were also joined by a local councilor and a couple of willing local residents - all help welcome so thanks for the extra muscle!

It's always amazing how much can be done within an hour when many hands work together. We lopped, hacked, yanked, ripped and dug our way through the mess of thorns and, although not 100% clear, made a massive impact on the patch. This was certainly a satisfying task even if it did leave a few rips in clothes and our skin got some free acupuncture.

Excellent work team!

We can tell the seasons by our trips to Kingston Pantry as we go every three months. It was a cold and rainy eve when we ran, cycled and walked to Kingston Pantry so it's definitely winter! Claire even ran with her umbrella to try and keep dry - talk about multitasking.

First job was to roll out the crates of veg and fruit so we could get to the shelves for a deep clean. Dave and Luke holed up in the back room whilst Jana, Tom, Jonathan, Sabir, Farzeen, Laura and Claire cleaned, swept and mopped the main room. It was a squash and a squeeze but many hands made the jobs on the list go quickly.

Excellent work team. We will be back in three months for Spring clean!