Tonight we saw a bumper turnout for Holgate Community Allotment which meant there were plenty of hands on deck for a proper evening of GoodGym gardening.

Before we set off we celebrated PK and Leanne's epic hike up Kilimanjaro, as well a some great 10k running from Stef at the weekend.

When we arrived we were met by Helen who had a long list of jobs. We got stuck into turning the compost, cutting back brambles, watering trees and clearing the school plot, giving everything a much-needed tidy-up. There was also a group of scrumpers sorting the windfall apples. 🍎 Because there were so many of us there was lots of opportunity to stand about and have a chat too!

We rounded off the evening with a lively game of Fitness Splat, proving that even after all that digging, chopping and clearing, there was still plenty of energy left in the tank for a bit if fun!

A bumper turnout, a bumper workload and finally a bumper crop of apples. A very productive night at Holgate! 💪🌱

see you next week!

We headed down to Headlands School to see what could be done to freshen up their bell tent. This was purchased a year ago and has become quite mildewy. Andy had already managed to treat the fabric walls using white wine vinegar, and had them looking a lot better, so it fell to us to clean up the canas floor.

We swept, scrubbed and sweated. We wore level 3 breathing apparatus which protected us from stray mould spores but made it a little difficult to see. Also breathe.

But the job was done - the tent is now clean and ready to give the forest school kids a place to go when it's raining. Hurrah!

We met Vanessa and Kev at the entrance to the site, and they showed us the giant pile of road planings which needed barrowing down to create a permanent surface for the path from the car park to the main area of their site. The summer's heat had caused the road planings to melt together slightly, creating rock hard piles that needed to be attacked with a pick axe before we could make with our shovels. Undaunted we got down to business, Vanessa and Kev worked alongside us, and we got what we could get done done. But there's a lot left to do. It felt good to be lending a hand at a place that clearly helps so many families, creating a community for people who have fallen between the cracks of the education system. I have a feeling we'll be back again soon.

Five of us arrived bright and early to volunteer for the Big Bear Run in aid of Project Moon Bear. We were given the task of running the first water station two kilometres into the race. As the station was so close to the start we were able to grab a coffee and have a leisurely walk before setting up.

We prepared probably two hundred cups and big highlight was getting to use the drill powered hose to fill the water jugs. Unfortunately, as we were so early into the race we didn't get to trying using it under pressure (pun intended) because the cooler weather meant demand for water was not what it might have been if the race had been earlier in the week.

With the last runners coming through after about forty minutes we were able to head back down the course to where it looped back and cheer on the runners as the turned the corner to go back to Askham Bryan. Lots of clapping and positivity helped spur everyone to the finish including our own Stef who did his fastest 10k for eight years 🎉🎉🎉

Between the five of us we managed to do lots in an hour at Holgate Community garden. Jane cut all the brambles down and cut down the dried plants in the top bed, Becca and Libby watered and weeded ad David and Laura sorted all the compost bins again so they closed.

We loved the sound of this innovative art project as part of Make Space for Girls at Rowntree Park. An installation depicting an outdoor bedroom will be going up in in early September, and we were tasked with digging some holes for the furniture. The ground was fairly solid due to the ongoing heatwave, but we made a good start and the artist appreciated our help. Hopefully we will be back soon to support the next stage of this fantastic project!