Breakfast gardening session extended into lunchtime in order to complete the planting (vinca, Robinea and choisya, relocate stachys , sow honesty and phaccilia seeds and water-in all the new planting.

Coffee and blueberry muffin provided much needed caffeine and energy for about a dozen trips to draw water from the river.

I learned so much about bats and their habitat along the Thames. Thank you for a really interesting evening with a friendly bunch of fellow bat-recorders.

Carrying on from the earlier breakfast session at The Arcade Rockery in Buccleuch Gardens, Anita continued with weeding and clearing and managed to plant out:

2 ‘triffid’ plant supports 8 heuchera 6 hebe 8 ajuga reptens 3 Sarcococca (Christmas box) 1 verbena A bag full of spring bulbs

There are still 8 vinca, 3 pachysandra and 4 Robinia to plant so there will be another breakfast session tomorrow for planting and watering-in.

Sadly no coffee and muffins during this mission however they may be on the menu again tomorrow morning.

Prep work for planting in GG Richmond’s sponsored plots in Buccleuch Gardens: Mainly weeding and digging holes but hard work rewarded by an al fresco breakfast of coffee and muffin

A happy return to Petersham & Ham Sea Scouts last night where scout leader Russell, surely one of the hardest-working scouts ever, had tasks ready and raring to go for us!

The group started with an intro and marathon congratulations for Steph Ducat and Adam, as well as Susan and Sarah who were getting some well-deserved rest in! It wasn't a sunny evening but the Richmond riverside has its own charm for a 2.5km run to the scout base.

Russell introduced us to the cycle of driftwood that comes in on the high tide and rips up the plants and growth in the wooded area. One group collected large pieces to add to the bug houses and get them out of the tide line while the other group emptied the woodshed of last year's dried out driftwood to be used for kindling at campfires. Next time we will be collecting the smaller piece from the grounds to go into the woodshed to dry out for next year!

Bugs aplenty and lots of heavy-lifting action made this a lively workout before a run back into Richmond town centre. Join us on Sunday back at the Scout base to help with the next stage.

Seven GoodGymers turned out for our monthly visit to the Richmond Furniture Scheme.

First off, we welcomed Alice, who was attending her first ever Richmond Good Gym task.

We were assigned by RFS’s Volunteer Coordinator Lucy to create a sitting area for the RFS staff to enjoy bench-ficial lunches in the upcoming summer months ahead.

With this in mind, we set about moving the donated bicycles into the recycling pile and to make it easier for them to be transferred to another charity, Re-Circulate, an organisation which train prisoners to refurbish bikes and equip them with technical skills that they can use to gain employment.

Once done, we cleared the surrounding area of rubbish and slotted the garden bench into place.

We also created an additional seating place for others to sit and enjoy! A job well done.

You can sign up for the upcoming visits to RFS by using the link below.

https://www.goodgym.org/v3