For this week's task, five intrepid GoodGymers braved the Cambridge thunderstorm to visit the Fox Den Community Allotment. ⛈️

Beth, Sandra, Kate, Catherine and I arrived to a mere smattering of rain, before it quickly developed into something heavier. Taking shelter, we met with Chief Allotmenteer Lorna to learn about today's task and assign roles. As well as preparing the paths, today we were to start on the hugel mound! A traditional permaculture method, a hugel mound is a raised bed filled with rotton wood and organic matter, creating a highly fertile soil from materials thay would otherwise go to waste.

First, we needed to dig a crater in which the decaying logs could go. Kate and Sandra wasted no time grabbing shovels and getting stuck in with the chiseling/flaking of the upper layers, while I filled watering cans to drench the layers beneath to help make it diggable. During our dig, we also learned from Lorna how Fox Den got its name, and we hope that one day the foxes may return! 🦊

Meanwhile, Catherine and Beth were on woodchip duty for the path maintenance task. With a wheelbarrow each, the pair completed multiple trips across the allotment, masterfully performing the labour-intensive job. Lulled into a false sense of security, jackets were removed during a dry spell - only for the rain to return when the pair were at the farthest point. Whoops! 🌧

Some rather spectacular thunder and lightning signalled that it was time to head to our August social! Passing sheltering cows, the group cycled to Calverley's Brewery (sadly, the weather once again scuppered our plans to picnic). We were really pleased Becky was able to join, meeting us at the bar just in time for the first beer sampling. Selling the group on the detroit-style pizzas, dinner was sorted. Thank you so much to everyone who came along, it really was a hugel-y enjoyable evening! 🍻🍕

We arrived in convoy for our weekend session at Fox Den Community Allotment. Having taken the scenic route along the river, Caroline and I fell in line behind Becky, who had been following Daiana and Andrew from the city centre. They hadn't met before, so had no idea they were heading to the same place (although the red t-shirt was a little giveaway)! We had a chuckle when we realised what had happened 🚲 🚲 🚲

Ilse was like a beacon in her GG t-shirt waiting for us, and we welcomed Princy back for her second GG task 💪

After some introductions, Lorna was briefing us on our jobs for the session. We were working in the forest garden area and Andrew, very impressively, explained to the rest of the group that the methods used in the forest garden enable mycelium to thrive, allowing plants to communicate and supporting hydration. Eventually, after 20ish years (or 10000s of GG sessions) the garden becomes self-sustaining. 🌿

Although the garden looked peaceful, it was a hive of activity as everyone got stuck in shifting bags and bags of clay and compost to clear a bed for planting. It was a efficient operation, and a proper strength workout with some VERY heavy wheelbarrows to transport. We played many rounds of the game 'compost or clay'? I'm not sure it will catch on.

As well as this, Daiana and Andrew did a great job cutting back the hedgerows, Ilse put the bricks to good use creating some much needed borders for some of the flowering beds, and Princy and Becky made light work of cleaning and folding the huge tarp that had been used as a base to store the clay. A busy evening, and what a transformation 🙌

We were delighted to be celebrating Ilse's 10th Good Deed, which as well as being a great achievement, meant we all got some cake! 🎂 Congratulations on all the good you've made happen in Cambridge so far, we're glad you're on the team 💛

We wrapped up for the evening, feeling satisfied with another active session. Daiana harvested a couple of tomatoes and took them home in her GG branded water bottle (ingenious) and I was also gifted a cucumber, so a really top notch session for us! And yes, the cucumber did get transported home in my bike's bottle holder. 🥒#normalforcambridge

Making the most of another sunny Sunday, GoodGym Cambridge headed out in force to Fox Den Community Allotment 🦊

Coming straight from a Social Mission, Catherine and I cycled over the together, and waiting for us were Daiana and Andrew. Soon after came Sandra and our two newest GGers, Anakha and Princy - welcome, both! 🙌

With Fox Den first timers getting the grand tour and introduction, we put on our gloves and picked up our tools to get stuck in! Daiana, Sandra and I had fun navigating the allotment paths with wheelbarrows full of woodchip to cover exposed areas, before assembling the Royal Cambridge Bug Hotel 🪲🐞🐛

A few rows across from us, Catherine helped the tomatoes get the support they needed, guiding the plants upwards and saving them from getting trampled 🍅

Pride of place in the middle of the allotment, Andrew, Princy and Anakha made impressive work of clearing the pond. A fantastic effort for their first visit and all should be really proud of what they accomplished! 💪

Excitingly, we even made a new friend in the form of a very friendly and cuddly cat. We all downed tools for a brief fuss! Now to decide on GG cat accessories for our latest recruit... 🐈‍⬛️

Before we left, the group gathered to congratulate Daiana on reaching 10 good deeds 🥳 We love having you as part of our team, and we look forward to seeing what you do with your next 10 deeds! As is traditional now, we celebrated with some delicious cake, and reflected on another lovely afternoon. A few even stayed on to harvest potatoes, so I think it's safe to say a good time was had by all! 😊

This week, GoodGymers Catherine, Daiana and Alan headed to Fox Den Allotment for an evening of gardening, wildlife spotting and plenty of hard work! 💪🏼

This was my first visit to Fox Den, and the 10th good deed with GoodGym! I was pleased to see the nice work done there and I could also learn a lot about gardening, plants, medical effects of the plants and how rich and diverse the environment can be! 🌳

Our first task was creating a hedgehog highway. 🦔 We cleared an area before carefully layering some logs, smaller branches, twigs and finally leafy cuttings on top to create the perfect habitat for our prickly visitors. Alan’s strength and speedy log-moving certainly made light work of the heaviest part of the job! 🪏

Following this first move, we turned our attention to preparing a bed that will become part of the site’s growing forest garden. We learned how these gardens become increasingly self-sustaining over time, with established fruit trees and bushes already thriving. After turning the soil into a rich, nutritious bed ready for planting, it will soon be home to raspberries, artichokes, strawberries and plenty of other perennial plants. 🌱

As if that wasn’t enough, we also shifted some hefty rubber sheets into place to cover borders that had been overtaken by weeds. The sheets will help suppress the weeds over the coming months, leaving the beds ready for even more planting later in the year.

There was plenty of wildlife to enjoy too! We spotted a tiny cricket, rescued a thirsty bee with a well-timed drink of water, and a ladybird seemed particularly fond of Alan’s T-shirt – a very fitting companion for the evening. 🦗🐞

A brilliant evening of teamwork, learning and getting stuck in. We can’t wait to see how Fox Den continues to grow over the coming seasons! ✨

We had a brilliant start to our Sunday sessions at Fox Den Community Allotment, welcoming Blessings and Sandra to their first GoodGym task 🙌

We were met by Lorna, who gave Sandra and Blessings the tour and history of the site, while I started some watering. Despite the heatwaves, the crops are looking very healthy with the courgettes, beans and tomatoes all boasting beautiful green leaves.

Our main job of the evening was to continue creating a woodchip path through the site and around (what will be) the pond area. I had not realised there are so many steps to laying woodchip! Growth had already been suppressed by large rubber sheets, and once we had removed these, we had to cover the area in cardboard (removing all sticky tape and staples). The cardboard then needed watering (I'm not sure anyone had that on their bingo card for the evening) before finally covering in a good layer of woodchip. Blessings and Sandra led the way prepping the cardboard and then Blessings and I got busy shovelling and wheel barrowing the woodchip across the site to Sandra who raked it into position. A very efficient GoodGym production line 💪 We took a much needed water break and enjoyed sitting in the peaceful surroundings, soaking up the evening sun before doing it all over again for a second layer!

The area was transformed. We admired the progress and had time for a quick photo before heading our separate ways. With just the right level of physical activity and plenty of time to chat, it was a beautiful way to round off the weekend. We look forward to returning later in the month. 🌿

This week saw our return to Fox Den Community Allotment for the first visit of 2026! Scott, Christopher, Catherine and Caroline slapped on some sunscreen and our gardening gloves and got stuck in. Chris and Catherine were busy shoveling, barrowing and laying woodchip to protect the ground. Meanwhile, Scott and I watered some very thirsty plants, admiring the tomatoes and potatoes and comparing to our own efforts 🍅

Working up quite a sweat, it was time to head to this month's social! While Scott set off on foot, Catherine, Chris and I grabbed our bikes and took the scenic route, enjoying a riverside cycle. Heading to Engineers House, we met Ilsa and refreshed ourselves with some drinks and pizza 🍕🍻

On top of it all, we also celebrated Catherine's birthday! How lucky to have another fantastic GoodGym activity AND social on the big day 🎂