It was a fantastic evening supporting the brilliant parent volunteers at St John’s C of E School, where we took on two impactful tasks to help improve their outdoor spaces.

The 9 GoodGymers split into two teams: one group tackled the extensive bindweed that had taken over the fence alongside the Forest School allotment. Working among their residents - two Pygmy goats, rabbits and chickens - we made great progress clearing the fence so people can now look in and parents can now focus their time growing things in the allotment for the children to see and learn about.

Meanwhile, the second group got busy painting one side of a large shed with a holly green base coat - the first step in an exciting transformation, as another parent volunteer will soon be working with the children to create a mural on the shed that will really brighten up the end of the playground.

Both tasks were hugely satisfying, and we hope our efforts will make a real difference for the school community. To top it all off, we enjoyed a final hello to the animals on our way out - always a highlight!

It was a beautiful sunny Sunday as our team gathered at the Forest School allotment at St John’s to help improve the outdoor learning space. We assembled new planters, transferred the soil and plants from the old containers, and completed the repotting process. We removed and disposed of the old planters, cleaned the surrounding area, and cleared away accumulated junk and waste. These efforts enhanced the appearance of the allotment, creating a cleaner, more attractive environment for young students to learn, explore, and enjoy. To top off a rewarding day, we also visited Salt and Pepper, the therapy goats, along with the chickens and bunnies, which made our day even more special.

Alex from the Forest School welcomed us to our Saturday task. We quickly got on with removing bind weed from the fence around the school. We untangled it from as far as we could reach all the way to the ground incl digging up the roots and raking the bits away. Job well done. Welcome to Suparna on her first mission.

We had a great turn out this Saturday and a lovely sunny day for our visit to the Forest School. Jacqui, Sekar, Amy and Yana were tasked with clearing out the weeds that have suddenly started to spring up with all the warm weather we’ve had. Meanwhile Alexis and Julie had the challenging job of removing the old tree stump that has been in the way of the allotment entrance causing a hazard for the children. The allotment looked much tidier when we were finished and we were rewarded with orange squash and biscuits, as well as the obligatory cuddles with the beautiful animals. It’s great to see the results of our work over the last few months here.

It was a beautiful sunny morning today at the Forest School Allotment. Helen, Amy, Rachel and Julie started off by moving the compost from the old raised bed which was in a shady corner into the new beds in the sunnier side. It was heavy work but with a few of us we worked quickly, so there was time to help Alex with some heavy lifting jobs that needed doing. We moved some bags of compost and some heavy plant pots into their new homes. It was great to see the results of some of our earlier efforts, with some plants we’d saved from the old beds and pots coming into flower. Kate and Rob brought their new arrival to say hello, and we all enjoyed spending some time with the animals (goats, rabbits and best of all CHICKENS). A great task today and a big welcome to Amy on her first Goodgym mission.

Freezing temperatures were no match for Goodgymers this morning, as Emily, Jacky, Tom, Mark, Rachel and Julie braved the cold to help Alex with a few jobs at the Forest School Allotment.

The Forest School has some new members, Salt and Pepper the therapy goats. Although they are tiny (and very cute) they need plenty of space in their pen, so there needs to be a few changes to the layout.

Our first task was to move a fence, which needed all our strength pulling the posts out of the frozen ground. Then after getting some big pots out of the way we started moving some of the raised beds.

Once all our tasks were done we couldn't resist saying hello to all the chickens, rabbits and goats before we left.

A great task today and we cant wait to come back to help Alex with some more projects soon as they get ready for spring.