On a pleasant, dry Friday morning, GoodGym Ealing held a special session with an unusually early start at 7:45 am! Harvey, Steph, Sevan and Kash changed their morning routines to make their way to an industrial estate in Acton to visit a vibrant, green oasis hidden between warehouses and repair shops.

Originally, the session was arranged to help the six wildflower beds in Acton survive – and thrive! – during the recent May heatwave. Should it come as a surprise that climate change caused a sudden change in the weather? After the hailstorms, thunderstorms and a decent amount of rain mid-week, watering the beds in the morning was no longer a priority. There was still an impact to be made, though!

The beds, now displaying a range of amazing, colourful flowers and attracting pollinators, could, if left unattended, turn into far less biodiverse ecosystems. That's why we decided to remove the weeds known to be bullies in the plant world, ready to take over space from other species – among them a couple of sycamore saplings - and also tidy up the dead grasses.

Why did we decide to travel to Acton so early, though? We were visited by BBC Radio London reporter Nisha, who had already completed one volunteering session that day – at the Thames beach in Hammersmith. Nisha not only handled a live broadcast and produced material for other platforms but also found time to roll up her sleeves and join our task – one of her five volunteering sessions that day (even our Ealing heroes don't go to such extremes!). How impressive is that!

Four minutes of fame and three sacks of collected weeds later, the team dispersed to run or walk back home, then started the rest of their Fridays with so much already accomplished!

It's been two years since GoodGym Ealing popped up at Popesfield Allotment for a task - can you believe it? While we supported Cultivate London at their projects in Acton and Hanwell, it was high time to revisit the plant nursery at the youngest allotment site in Ealing. And what did we see? The plant nursery has been doing well, but the membrane underneath the pallets with plant pots needed some TLC.

Steph, Sevan and Kash ran a short distance to Popesfield, but for Steph, the difficulty didn't decrease with the mileage as he carried a huge work backpack, worthy of standing for a military training rucksack. The three met Harvey and Maxime, the latter recently having led his first session as TaskForce - congratulations, Maxime! Maxime had led a weekend task nowhere else but in Popesfield, so everyone was hoping to use his know-how about opening all the locks to get to the site and the tools. Fortunately, the instructions were clear, and the team didn't need to rely on specialist knowledge.

The job was simple: pull out the weeds creeping out from the black membrane in front of the sheds, sweep debris, and place all the waste in a tonne bag. Five GoodGymers approached the big job with zeal and thoroughness, pulling the grass from the membrane like there was no tomorrow. In an hour, they cleared the weeds and gravel from the whole open area of the membrane, leaving only parts of the paths between pallets unfinished.

What a thorough job! I am truly impressed, and you say you are not gardeners? - task owner from Cultivate London.

Next week, GoodGym Ealing opts for an indoor task at the Tuesday group run (just about when it starts getting lighter and warmer in the evenings!). We will be helping to clean and organise a children’s activity space at St Mary's in South Ealing. Sign up now!

The first Tuesday of June marked an abrupt and definite end to the May heatwave, with hailstorms and thunderstorms raging over Ealing in the afternoon. Six GoodGymers who weren't scared off by the weather, caught in the worst of the rain, or stopped by the tube strikes were lucky enough to miss the downpour and even catch some shy rays of sunshine. Jumping over puddles, Freya, Steph, Sevan and Kash ran through Ealing Common to Popesfield Allotments to meet cyclist James and walker Anna.

The goal of the task, commissioned by the horticultural charity Cultivate London, was to clear a vegetable patch to serve as a communal starter plot for people on the allotment waiting list. The idea was to give them a chance to learn, practise, and enjoy growing their own fruit and veg while they wait for a plot of their own. As you may know, waiting for an allotment space in London can take years, so the GoodGym team was ready to take on the weeds that had spread across the patch and give those keen future gardeners the best possible start in food growing.

If you think the session was a typical power-weeding-raze-everything-to-the-ground-total-destruction affair, then think again! The veg patch was already planted with a variety of legitimate plants, so uncovering all the plot's secrets hidden beneath the overgrowth proved to be quite an educational experience. Although the GoodGymers were physically on their own at the allotment, the task owner from Cultivate was on the other side of Kash's phone, providing live support. The team trusted them more than Google Lens and happily sent over pictures of questionable plants for identification.

Among the plants the group recognised on their own, or with task owner's help, were poppies, tarragon, sage, artichokes, broccoli and other brassica plants, African kale, and curry plant (not to be confused with the curry tree, which actually produces curry leaves), to name just a few. The remaining greenery, classified as weeds, filled nearly two half-tonne bags, later hauled to the green waste disposal area. In less than an hour, the two-sided plot was unrecognisable and looked like a veg patch once again – if you can identify your veggies, of course!

Next Tuesday, we are off to Elthorne Park to keep burdock under control before it spreads too far, prevents other plants from thriving, and produces the burrs that get stuck in your dog's fur! Let's tackle this spiky troublemaker before it starts producing its prickly hitchhikers. Sign up now!

On a Thursday evening, Acton Town station was the scene of many disappointed passengers facing the disrupted Piccadilly line and the end of their westbound journeys. It was also the meeting point for three GoodGymers, who had beaten the unreliable Tube by choosing to run (like Harvey) or walk (like Steph Ducat and Kash).

The day was hot and dry, but not as bad as a couple of days earlier, when the GoodGymers had almost melted on their way to the group run task. The breeze gently cooled the team on their brief jog to the Wildflower Trail to pick up watering cans. During such hot weeks, it seemed like everything was thirsty: the GoodGymers, the grass, trees, pigeons, and even the pavements. But nothing was as thirsty as the Monster of Acton.

To save the people of Acton from the tyranny of the beast, the brave trio, armed only with watering cans, walked to the Pokopia Garden sprawling in front of St Mary's Church and Morrisons. The monstrous garden was actually quite a handsome beast, with plenty of greenery and pictures of cute Pokémon dotted around. It was popular with children and their parents, who visited to explore the planters and take photos. Little did they know how much that garden could drink! Neither did the GoodGymers — so they filled their cans and started watering it.

The garden drank and drank and drank. The trio watered the planters and the Poké Ball terrariums. Then they poured even more water on them, watching how quickly the liquid soaked into the soil. And the garden drank and drank and drank. A lady appeared out of nowhere (or perhaps out of Morrisons) with a bucket of water, then quickly backed off, happy and relieved that the GoodGymers were on watering duty. The trio wouldn't have minded turning into a quartet, as the garden drank and drank and drank...

Harvey, Steph, and Kash eventually moved on to watering the "living wall" structure, which, despite still looking pretty cool, wasn't so lively anymore. Some of the plants had unfortunately dried out, and some trays no longer had any soil in them. But when the GoodGymers poured the water, the wall drank and drank and drank. The GoodGymers must have used 180 litres of water on the living wall alone, having to top up the trays that the water poured from the top couldn't reach. It was literally thirsty work.

After a good 50 minutes of hauling three cans between the water source and the dried-out planters, the monster was eventually satisfied — at least for the day — and calm enough to leave the people of Acton alone. The blissful residents could once again marvel at the wonders of the Pokopia Garden, totally unaware that the pretty beast could have sucked all the moisture out of them. Thank goodness we had GoodGym on duty! And what a Thirsty Thursday it has been!

Do you remember the story from the most recent session at Popesfield Allotments, where I noted that GoodGym Ealing hadn't visited Cultivate London's plant nursery for two years? Well, such a gap didn't happen this time! Our team was back within three weeks since the April 2026 session, as we had left a job unfinished, and we don't like that.

So, what do we like? The sound of weeds' roots being seamlessly pulled through a membrane, oh yes! This Tuesday evening task was filled with satisfying ambient noises and a sense of achievement.

Conor, Sevan, Steph Ducat and Kash ran from Ealing Broadway to meet another runner - Harvey, cyclist James and walker Anna.

Anna arrived for her first GoodGym session after being recruited by our mutual friend from LAGER Can - what a brilliant turn of events! Anna likes a good litter pick, but nothing beats a green task closer to nature. She arrived ready with small weeding tools and even offered others her spare gloves, which astonished the regulars - usually it's the other way around with the newbies! Neither gloves nor tools were really necessary as the weeds were extremely easy to pull by hand, and that was an utterly satisfying sensation.

With a team of seven and an hour of pulling, sweeping, bagging and pallet-lifting, we finished clearing the entire membrane area, filling two tonne bags with garden waste. Minus a few holes (made by weeds, not us!), the membrane looked like new.

"You could eat dinner from that!" - Harvey.
"Is it dinner time?"

Next Tuesday, we'll have more gardening to do as we'll be helping gardener Cliff maintain the peaceful space for church-goers and residents of South Ealing at St Mary's churchyard. Sign up now!

Anita and Iram dropped in to join Auberon, Dani, and the Cultivate London team to help bring a splash of colour to the green spaces around Ealing Hospital. Anita arrived first, while Iram joined later, so the pair passed each other like ships in the daylight! Cultivate London supplied some very fetching hi-vis jackets and all the tools we needed to get planting.

Cultivate London is a charity that provides horticultural services using sustainable, organic and biodiverse methods. They work with communities, businesses and local government to create and maintain enjoyable and sustainable urban green spaces and give local people the opportunity to learn and engage in food growing. This session was in partnership with London North West Healthcare Charity.

The team introduced us to the “lasagne technique” which involved layering different bulbs in the soil like lasagne sheets. A good deep hole was dug, and layers of tulips and crocuses were stacked between layers of ~~sauce~~ soil before being firmly stomped down to deter the local squirrel population. The squirrels were keeping a watchful eye from the sidelines as they planned their next raid for a tasty treat!

There’s still plenty to do, so we’ll likely be back to lend a hand again soon. It was a brilliant session full of teamwork, fresh air and the promise of a colourful spring around Ealing Hospital.