A small but mighty crew headed down to the riverside this evening to tackle a familiar invasive foe: Himalayan balsam.

After a run or cycle to the task location, we split up along the riverbank and got stuck into pulling up the plants before they have a chance to spread their seeds. The recent weather had left the ground soft, making it satisfying work as roots and all came free with a gentle tug.

Working our way along the path, we soon created impressive piles of balsam and opened up space for native plants to thrive.

With plenty of plants removed and the area looking noticeably clearer, we gathered for a group photo before heading to the memorial gardens for fitness, feeling pleased with another practical contribution to keeping our local green spaces in great shape.

Tonight we did some exercises around the circle then froze into different positions. It was then back to base for a stretch out.

We also congratulated all the impressive runners who completed races and relays over the weekend, cheered Mitch for doing his 600th deed and Neil his 100th, and welcomed Yashodh and Nada to their first group run.

Great effort from everyone involved!

Two of us visited Mrs C on Monday morning to move furniture in preparation for lino being fitted. Mrs C had been waiting for over a year to get her flooring done so it was great to be able to help make that happen.

With Pete and Catherine enjoying a walk along the river to the task we were joined by James and soon put to work taking a gazeebo down, moving various tables and chairs and general tidy up. Much appreciated by Abigail and her small team and if anyone wants to help set up next sat with Mitch at Homestead Park many hands make light work....

3 GoodGymers turned up to the Tiny Forest as the sun shone on the daisy meadow and verdant new green tree growth. It was lovely to meet Nada Nada at her first forest session.We set to repairing the woodchip path / edging and filling in holes to make it flatter and safer. As always there was time to sit and enjoy the views. Chatter over coffee & biccies revolved round the many meanings of the word weed. In no time at all the entire wood chip heap was used up so it was time to go home.

The Land is on the edge of Haxby with a wonderful view of the Howardian Hills. Well done for Jake for running all the way to the task, some miles out of York, straight after work! We soon got stuck into shovelling the grit into barrows and carting it down a grassy track to make a stone track. It was a good decision to start laying the path a bit closer than the end of the road, a 5 minutes wobbly walk away! The sun soon came out and we focused on clearing the pile of grit that was blocking the mower's garage. It was a decent work out for all, so we celebrated our true Northern grit with cookies, iced buns, brownies and doughnuts. Well, it is Saturday! We will be back to do more, I'm sure!

Although it had been tipping down all day, 3 hardy GoodGymers turned up in full waterproofs to help with the gardening. However, a wonderful surprise awaited - a lovely warm indoor sitting down chatting task making cardboard boxes. These will be filled with jams, marmalade & chutneys to raise funds for Planet Food. Despite all the chatter, we were so efficient, we were stopped from making any more by the very grateful task owner.