Making the most of the dry weather it was possible to get Mrs C’s overgrown grass strimmed and mowed to make it easier for her to access her beautiful garden. I am not the best at mowing, but it looked a lot better afterwards. There was also time to get the path weeded and cut back overgrown plants around the back door and a tree which was preventing access to the greenhouse. After raking and sweeping, and bagging up all the cuttings things were much tidier and safer. Mrs C was delighted with the outcome as she will now be able to enjoy her garden in the sunshine with her lovely cats. A few of them came to check on me and inspect my work! Hopefully they approved though I think they enjoyed the longer grass!

Nicola and Stephanie joined the lovely Jill and crew from Woolston Station Garden group maintaining this much loved little corner of beauty and nature. We spent the session weeding the beds under the guidance of Patricia our plant guru. Wonderful to see signs of Spring everywhere as these pockets of nature are so important in urban areas.

What a fantastic session joining Mac and other volunteers at Millers Pond Nature Reserve/ Sholing Valleys Study Centre to plant trees around this vital green space allowing nature to thrive. Nicola, Leszek, Ashleigh and Stephanie had great fun planting a lovely variety of trees Dog Wood, Hazel, Hawthorn and more. We then dug up a few other saplings which had grown up in the wrong place although a few were rather reluctant to come out of the ground. Leszek and Nicola also took part in the afternoon litter pick around the reserve. We will return to see how the new saplings are getting on later in the year.

For the third consecutive week, GG has returned to the same stretch of Portswood Road, and once again it didn’t disappoint—we collected bags and bags of litter. It’s incredible how much rubbish can be found in such a short distance. It’ll be fascinating (and maybe a little terrifying!) to see what it’s like “over the wall” this time next year.

We officially welcomed Laura this evening - (now signed up to GoodGym) and immediately showed us why she’s a brilliant addition, she was picking up litter super fast, powering through the task like she’d been doing it for years (Wilson wish she had!).

Sarah did us proud by walking to the task, clocking up an impressive 4‑mile round trip by walking to the session. Wilson found some vials of liquid.... Sarah had an idea what they were for.... 😉

Another huge litter haul on Portswood Road, and another great effort from the team.

This was a great task - with GG members from Leicester and Portsmouth also joining in and some new members locally!

Yoyo enjoyed a litter pick along Chilworth Road saying it was good, easy to organise, and it felt great contributing to the community.

Nick from Leicester litterpicked a road into Asfordby village. Two bags of grot plus 2/3 bag of crushed cans left at the wombles Air Ambulance appeal collection point. Adding to the £17k raised so far by collecting and weighing in the cans from across the borough!

Judy from Portsmouth GG tried to litter pick the sandy beaches of Jersey - thought they were very clean so finding litter was tricky!

Jane from Portsmouth GG tidied up the bushes at Milton Park - but wasnt able to catch any of the big big bubbles floating past as she did so!

Sarah filled two bags with litter whilst walking along the River Itchen near Brambridge.

Dave from Portsmouth GG picked locally in Pompey.

Amanda did her litter pick on the way to the pub - sounds like my kinda litter pick!

Ellie filled a bag local to where she lives - not just from her garden!

Wilson filled a bin bag just from her 10 min walk home from work - sad but true.

All these litter picks build up and help to keep our environment clean 😊😊😊

Last night, eight GoodGymers returned to Portswood Road for another productive litter‑picking session along the pavement. The team pulled rubbish from the bushes and around the newly planted tree saplings — perfect timing before the leafage grows and hides everything away. By the end of the task, the group had filled six bags of general litter and one bag of crushed cans. It was great to welcome two new members, Laura and Zi, who threw themselves into the task with great enthusiasm — hopefully we’ll see them again soon! There is still plenty more litter in the opposite direction, so a third visit is definitely on the cards.