5 wonderful goodgymers met up with a couple of Treemendous folk to tend the Tiny Forest. What a wonderful pile of woodchip awaited us at the Tiny Forest. The new and the old piles of wood chip were speedily despatched around the trees and along the circumference until there was none left. Primroses & horse chestnut were planted. Lucy planted up the pond earlier in the week. The sun shone all morning. Although the "lashings of ginger beer" were nowhere to be found, it was soon time for coffee & cake & chat & appreciation of the bug hotel inhabitants. Team Woodchip were tremendous making a huge impact. Lovely photos thanks to Nikki & Babs.

At the edge of a well-worn bowling green,

A team of willing volunteers were seen

Tools in hand, no fuss, no show—

Just GoodGym folk and weeds to go.

Gravel deep, dandelions bold,

Stories swapped as the soil unrolled.

A border cleared, a pathway found,

Order teased from stubborn ground.

Then chairs pulled close, the kettle’s call,

A kind reward that pleased us all—

Tea in cups, lovely weather

And the best Victoria sponge ever

After tea we wanted something stronger

So off yo the pub to stay a bit longer

Can't beat Friday night at the fox

A goodgym favourite ... but tonight it was cold so we just stayed for one!

Friday fun club assembled at Rowntree Park to help Stuart with a few tasks on his list. The main task was moving some more (and quite large) sedge plants and replanting them near the edge of the pond alongside those previously relocated by GG on an earlier task.
Elle and Jenna were tasked with moving some logs across to the store whilst myself and Lyndsey moved some empty plant pots in the garden behind the café (and rehomed a frog in the process).

Once the pots had been successfully moved we joined the sedge team and finished off the last couple of holes and helped get the largest sedge plant dug in.

Stuart has more tasks for us to do so we may be back again next Friday!

Lots of keen residents turned out for our monthly games session at Hartrigg Oaks - it was lovely to see everyone again! We started out with our favourite test of balance and hand-eye coordination - the giant marble run. Then we had a lively bowling match, bringing back good memories of past victories for some of the players. Finally, we gave our brains a workout as well as our bodies, trying to keep the giant balloon aloft while naming as many animals as we could think of!

Today we welcomed a lovely new GoodGymer, Rachel, to the task. Seasoned GoodGym-weeders, Leanne and Elle, felt a bit strange asking Rachel to take weeds out of the crazy paving only to then plant marigolds in their place! However, in Leanne's legendary words: "We just do what we are told!" As for the selfie, by now, it's just about what everyone expects from Elle's selfie skills. (However, the second photo is one of my favourites of Leanne to date and it's been added to my volunteers' photo portfolio.)

Tonight we were back at the Arts Barge to help them do some jobs to get the barge ready for spring.

We had one group working on the boat doing a bit of problem solving sawing up rectangles of polystyrene to fit the inside of the boat for insulation.

The rest of the gang were tasked with tidying up on land. Michael, Jane and Nick were quick to volunteer to build a fire yo burn unwanted wood. Kit and Ben took it in turns to power wash the stones with a very big hose! Everyone else used various tools to weed between the cobbles.

We finished with a group pic then headed off to Tower Gardens for a Jenna speciality fitness. This involved moving around then getting in different sized groups to make a human sculpture! GG imagination at its best - we had a beehive, a barge, a snail, normal and sophisticated!

It was then back to base and off to the pub for some!