With the summer announcing its arrival by trying to melt the pavements, it was great to find some shade for some balsam bashing with Northcliffe Allotments and the Friends of Northcliffe. The Balsam had taken over several areas near the miniature railway so there was plenty to go at.

The park was really peaceful and i had chance to talk to Val and Margot about how GoodGym started and the benefits we can bring to Bradford as it grows. Further Balsam bashing sessions are coming up in July, watch this space!

i forgot to take a picture of any Balsam so ive added a picture of me enjoying the heat instead.

The second ever GoodGym Bradford task was the first of hopefully many visits to Northcliffe Allotments and Community Gardens.

Val from the allotment group met us and initially gave us a tour of this wonderful space. At the moment, the main visitors to the garden are foxes and deer (unfortunately not today) but the group are planning on opening it to the public next weekend. That meant there were plenty of tasks to choose from.

Me, Asimah and Kati got to work with some of the other volunteers clearing the paths. Rachel got to work covering a giant mound of abandoned soil with reclaimed stones.

The paths were very overgrown in parts so it was really therapeutic to get the lopers out and cut the plants back. The stubborn dandelions between the paving slabs were hard work but by the end the paths were looking much more accessible.

Over at the mound, Rachel made excellent work of the stones and was able to cover the most public facing part of the mound.

After two hours of work and a cuppa, we said our goodbyes. Val still has plenty more jobs on her list and more up her sleeve so we'll be back next month to do some more 😁