The GoodGym flowerbed had become a little full of weeds over the Spring so it was time for a tidy up and the sun was shining so we got stuck in.

We tackled some well known weeds with very long roots that went on for ever, the dreaded bind weed and brambles.

Having cleared the weeds it was time to plant some new plants to bring some extra colour.

Sabir and Claire then headed off to collect some woodchip and Melissa and Julie headed to the river accompanied by our 4 legged helpers for water to water in our new plants.

Having laid the woodchip and watered the plants it was time to leave and hope that the plants will continue to flourish.

Great to support Keep Britain Tidy’s Great British Spring Clean today with a litter pick in Canbury Gardens. The sun unexpectedly shone down on six GoodGymers, as we met at the bandstand and armed ourselves with gloves, bin bags (held open in nifty hoops!) and pickers! We were pleased to see the park and tow path along the Thames, remarkably clear of litter - well done park visitors - but were still able to make a difference filling three bin bags with plastic bottles, polystyrene, paint pots and wrappers. Emily, Melissa, Sabir, Gemma, Rachel and Emma can now reward themselves with an Easter egg or two for a job well done!

What a great start to 2024! An intrepid group took a morning walk in Canbury Gardens to rid the park and waterway of any detritus left from the New Year's celebrations. We met at the bandstand and worked out our route, handed out litter pickers, gloves and bags and off we went.

Heading in different directions to scour the walkways and bushes, we slowly filled up our bin bags with bottles, plastic bits, styrofone and other discarded items. Kash found some interesting items including two odd shoes (not a pair) and an old, broken fishing rod. Can only imagine how two people hopped home after a trip to the park perhaps for a unsuccessful fishing trip.

Such a successful trip and we welcomed Vivian on her first outing with GoodGym - hope to see you again! Our tourists included Liz, Area Activator from Richmond with her cute pup, Barley, Cherian from Barnet and Sevan and Kash from Ealing. Love hanging out with our friendly GoodGym neighbours - hope to come and visit you soon! Big thanks to local legends Emily and Dave, and let's not forget Rob who organised the task but got waylaid by jet lag and a small baby but still managed to get out in his local park to do his bit.

We've lots lined up in the calendar for the January Challenge so have a look and see what takes your fancy. See you soon!

A bright breezy Sunday morning proved perfect conditions for our riverside litterpick and to blow away any cobwebs from our Saturday nights!

Oh buoy it was a fair haul - we filled 2 bins bags between 3 of us including an old buoy - helping stop plastics and other waste getting into our waterways.

We had our 4 legged mascot Pepa along and had a lovely surprise meeting with Samia, a longstanding GoodGymer.

The task helped Canbury and Riverside Assocuation and no doubt The Environment Agency who look after this non tidal section of Thames.

A bit of rain was not going to deter the hardy GoodGymers from finishing the GoodGym flowerbed ready for winter.

Tools collected we started off clearing the leaves and weeds with very long roots.

Nearly an hour in we were joined by Sam who volunteers in the garden. Rob then collected some more woodchip whilst Julie and Claire spread it around and Sam finished off the weeding.

The rain had eased off and the sun had come out so Trevor joined us from the Canbury Garden volunteers and helped us put the fence in. It was a team effort feeding the wire through the holes trying to avoid it kinking but we got the job done.

As we finished up and admired the flowerbed the heavens opened again so we all headed off a little soggy for our lunch.

Great work everyone 🌟 the extra time spent on the fence made a great difference.

The unseasonably hot weather has made the plants in the GoodGym flower bed rather thirsty so I convinced my colleague that a lunchtime run to Canbury Gardens was required. We didn’t go as far up the river as usual and stopped at the tool shed for the watering cans and buckets and jogged to the river. We filled them up a couple of times and gave the plants a good drink. Once finished we had a quick jog back to the shed and a run back to the office, returning feeling nice and refreshed for the afternoon.

Hopefully the plants might get a top up from some rain later in the week.