This morning’s session with the Friends of Danson Park saw us working in the fledgling community orchard. Last year, we helped plant eight apple trees, which have done remarkably well to survive the drought over the last few months. 🍎🍏

Today, we cut back brambles that were cheekily creeping towards the saplings, then we got stuck into a big pile of wood chippings. The aim was to spread a wide ring around the base of each tree, helping keep the mowers at a safe distance when the orchard's grass is cut.

The five of us, along with the lovely regular FODP volunteers, soon fell into a good system: shovelling chippings into barrows, ferrying them to the trees and raking them into an even layer. It was very satisfying to see the fruits of our labour once we’d finished.

After packing away the tools, we headed to The Stables, where the manager kindly provided tea and coffee and the FODP team supplied the biscuits. A nice way to finish the morning!

It was brilliant to have Beth, Maxine and Dann for their first GoodGym tasks. We hope to see you again soon! 🙌

We’ll be back again next month, probably planting bulbs in the wildflower garden. Then there will be more tree planting to look forward to in November. We're excited to help the orchard grow! 🌳🌳

It was a brisk and blustery one in Danson Park on Saturday, but that didn’t stop the team from getting stuck in. Robert and I were especially pleased to welcome two new GoodGym Bexley members, Zara and Ian, to their very first task — and what a great one to start with!

As part of our ongoing collaboration with the brilliant Friends of Danson Park, we rolled up our sleeves to help make our beloved park even more beautiful (and biodiverse!), as we got involved in planting around 300 plugs of Yellow Rattle in the rock garden.

If you haven’t come across Yellow Rattle before, it’s a bit of a quiet hero. By drawing nutrients from dominant grasses, it helps create space for wildflowers to thrive, boosting biodiversity and providing a valuable nectar source for pollinators. A small plant with a big impact!

The ground, however, had other ideas… with no rain recently, the soil had turned impressively stubborn. So much so that Ian, in a heroic first-task effort, managed to break a trowel while trying to get those plugs in the ground 💪🌱. (Don’t worry — we’ve got photographic evidence.) Safe to say, he passed his GoodGym initiation with flying colours!

Despite the chilly wind, spirits were high, tools (mostly) survived, and it was fantastic to see new faces getting involved from the get-go.

Huge thanks to everyone who came along, and a big welcome again to Zara and Ian. Hope this is the first of many tasks with us!

After what felt like approximately 47 straight days of rain (give or take), we were delighted to welcome a very special guest to Saturday’s session in Danson Park… the sun! Honestly, we’re starting to think the sun might be a GoodGymer - it turned up right on time and boosted everyone’s energy levels instantly.

We teamed up with the fantastic Friends of Danson Park for a productive morning tackling overgrown bushes around the park. With bird nesting season just around the corner, it was important to get the cutting back done now, making the area tidier, safer, and ready to flourish in spring, without disturbing any future feathery residents.

Armed with loppers, secateurs and plenty of enthusiasm, we got stuck in. There’s something deeply satisfying about transforming a wild tangle of branches into neat, manageable greenery. And even more satisfying doing it together.

It was one of those sessions that reminds you why community tasks are so brilliant: fresh air, visible impact, good chats, and that smug post-task feeling of 'we did that'.

Huge thanks to everyone who came along and to Friends of Danson Park for having us.

Same again when the sun’s available? 😉

Today, Ashton, Robert and I represented GoodGym to assist the Friends of Danson Park with their tree planting effort.

We focused on preparing the ground, adding essential manure, and carefully planting young trees to boost the park's green canopy and biodiversity.

It was a rewarding morning spent collaborating with the community, and we found genuine joy in knowing our efforts directly support the environmental health of Danson Park.

The task required focused, detailed work, ensuring each sapling was properly secured and set up for strong growth. Despite the cool weather, our team was highly productive, successfully establishing all the assigned trees.

To top off a great day, the Friends of Danson Park offered warm drinks and cookies, adding a lovely final touch of community spirit.

We are thrilled to have played a part in this vital green initiative and look forward to the long-term positive impact our work will have on the local ecosystem and for future park visitors.

On a bright Saturday morning, 6 brave GoodGymers descended upon Danson Park, armed with gloves, loppers, and a healthy dose of enthusiasm. Our mission? To join forces with the Friends of Danson Park and take on the park’s most prickly residents – the brambles.

Now, these weren’t your average, polite little plants. Oh no. These brambles had clearly been training for battle – all spikes and attitude, stretching far and wide like they owned the place. But with teamwork, determination, and the occasional “ouch!” or “I think it’s got me again!”, we managed to clear quite a sizeable patch.

The cleared area will soon make way for new bushes and trees, giving that part of the park a well-deserved facelift (and perhaps a less pointy future).

A big thanks to the Friends of Danson Park for hosting us – and to our fearless team for proving once again that even the spikiest challenges can be overcome with a bit of teamwork and a lot of good humour! 🌳💪

This morning we gave the big conifer outside Danson House a proper makeover. First we battled through lots of very spiky plants, then spread a fresh circle of mulch all around the tree. It now looks brilliant – like it’s ready for a photo shoot!

We also collected a huge 29 bags of wilted grass, weeds and rubbish. The area looks so much tidier, and the tree is definitely the star of the show.

Well done team – spades, mulch and teamwork made the magic happen!