Penn Rd Residents Association
Penn Road Residents Association is a group formed of the residents of Penn Rd, N7 London; we work together to make the garden at the end of the street a community space and organize a summer and winter party for residents and gardeners
We were the first community group to get a contract from Islington Council to maintain the garden at the end of our street, and have made it useable for the residents and a beautiful space for the community to enjoy38 GoodGymers have supported Penn Rd Residents Association with 23 tasks.
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Previous sessions
Forward Plan(t)ing
Sunday 29th October
Written by Sevan
David and Sevan were the GoodGym representatives at Penn Road Gardens this Sunday to help the local residents keep on top of the regular maintenance tasks. There were 2 types of tasks on the menu this morning. Both equally valuable, but very different.
On the side of Good, there were future plans that needed to be set in motion now. David helped a group of volunteers to plant spring bulbs, which will shoot up and provide a beautiful display after the winter. For now, they'll stay hidden beneath the soil. Sevan was also asked to add some bits of cardboard - soggy after the night's rain - to the compost heaps to add carbon rich material to the future compost mix.
On the side of Bad, or rather banishing bad from the gardens, there were current problems to be addressed. David started the task by weeding alkanet from the flowerbeds, working along one side of the gardens. Sevan on the other hand was sent behind the shed to clear a patch of brambles. Out of sight, out of mind? No matter, after hiding in the bushes for a while, he'd managed to dig out all but the deepest roots, leaving the area bramble free.
Part way through the task, some light rain started and got heavier, then heavier still. As the water started to seep through their jackets, the GoodGymers decided to go their separate ways to find some warm, dry cover. Such are the joys of gardening in autumn.
Penn Road is O-penn to all!
Sunday 27th August
Written by Simon Fitzmaurice
Our Goodgym crew were treated to a gloriously sunny Sunday morning at Penn Road Gardens today. The local resident gardening team were thrilled to have so many Goodgym helpers on hand to assist with their green projects, particularly as they are hosting a celebration in two weeks:
Party in the Park- Penn Road Gardens - A celebration of the volunteer efforts in this idyllic green space!
https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/party-in-the-park-penn-road-gardens
Between us, we were able to cut and trim loads of awkward overgrown bushes surrounding the gardens, and swept up huge amounts of dropped leaves across the pedestrian entrances. Loads of litter picking and gathering discarded rubbish too, always found in bushes next to Caledonian Road. Midway through our morning, we took advantage of a lovely cup of tea and coffee and optional digestives to fuel our excellent work!
Within just two hours, we made a real transformation. Top stuff everyone!
Rakes and Baggers
Sunday 30th July
Written by Ines B (she/her)
Once again GoodGym assisted with the monthly tidy-up of Penn Road Community Gardens.
Sevan and Kash came all the way from Ealing, John walked over from Highbury Fields Junior ParkRun, while Ines arrived from the other side of the road - for her second task at this site. I always thought leaves dropped in the autumn, but here we are at the end of July and the paths in the gardens were full of them! It was a major task to rake up the leaves and sweep them into bags, for composting.
After more than ninety minutes work, Sevan and Kash headed to a birthday party, Ines walked back across the road and John headed for Switzerland! But we’ll be back next month…
Penn Community Gardening
Sunday 25th June
Written by Ines B (she/her)
Great morning helping out with some gardenning and finished with a nice cup of tea and biscuits! :)
Goodgym Islington Plog Squad!
Monday 17th April
Written by Simon Fitzmaurice
Area Activator Simon met with 10 Goodgym folks from all across the boroughs last night for a sunny "plogging" run around a collection of Islington parks. After a short warm up on the slopes of the Emirates Stadium, we together along MacKenzie Road and Caledonian Road to the lovely Penn Road Gardens.
Penn Road Gardens is one of our long running community mission locations- Goodgym Islington have been helping the local resident gardening team with composting, green space maintenance and planting on the last Sunday of every month- our next visit will be on 30th April (https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/penn-road-gardens-open-morning-april). This time, we scheduled a one-off litter picking task using sturdy gloves and folding litter pickers to scour the area within and around the park. This little green spot is surrounded by residential housing, busy roads and food outlets, which means that the hedgerows and flower beds are accustomed to being covered with debris from the street. This became particularly clear when we helped with a composting task last month, and all of the freshly mulched fertiliser was full of plastic wrappers and bottle caps. A 30 minute sweep of the park can make a huge difference!
Our next intended location was due to be Biddestone Gardens, down Holloway Road, a newly opened park with intended 24 hour access (also susceptible to littering). However, we found that a lock had been put onto all access gates! So we decided to continue our run down to St Mary's Church Grounds, just across the road from Freightliner's Farm for a final 15 minute blast of plogging! We focused in on clearing the areas surrounding public seating and picnic areas to maximise our impact towards the end of the evening- we could be litter picking for hours otherwise.
Upon our completion of the task, we had successfully collected 6-7 half full bags of rubbish within 45 minutes! From here, our group split off, and 5 runners returned to the Arsenal Community Hub to participate in our monthly "Emirates Stadium Time Trial"- a 700m sprint around the Emirates Stadium!
To finish off the evening, most of our runners made a trip to the wonderful Zia Lucia Italian restaurant on Holloway Road for delicious pizza and good times! Well done everyone!
NEWS
Goodgym Islington Finsbury parkrun Volunteer Takeover
Saturday 22nd April, 8.30am, Finsbury Park
Area Activator Simon and the parkrun event team will be collaborating on Saturday morning to host their free weekly timed 5km running event- a special catch up before London Marathon tomorrow! Always on the lookout for:
Course Marshals Barcode Scanners Time Keepers Funnel Managers Token Collectors and many more vital roles!
We will be visiting the lovely Blighty Café on Blackstock Road for breakfast afterwards!
https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/finsbury-park-parkrun-volunteering-pre-london-marathon-party
Caledonian Road junior parkrun - looking for volunteers!
Sunday 23rd April, 8.45am, Caledonian Park
The junior parkrun team (a free weekly timed 2km running event for youngsters aged 4-14 years old) at Caledonian Park are seeking volunteers for marshalling, timekeeping, barcode scanning and generally supporting on Sunday!
Sign up here to get involved:
Goodgym Ofiicial London Marathon Cheer Station!
Sunday 23rd April, Somerset House, Embankment
It's back again! Come and support our incredible Goodgym runners out on the London Marathon course at Mile 24 for inspiration and an unparalleled atmosphere!
https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/gg-cheer-at-the-london-marathon
Penn Road Gardens Open Morning
Sunday 30th April, 10am, Penn Road Gardens, Caledonian Road
Our friends from Penn Road Gardens will be out in force again for more wonderful green space maintenance tasks and cups of coffee! Always a pleasure!
Sign up here:
https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/penn-road-gardens-open-morning-april
Track Attack- Victoria Dock- Coronation Weekend Special
Sunday 7th May, 11am, The Good Hotel, Victoria Dock, Newham
Our monthly social time trial event returns to its special Summer spot- the glorious pancake flat stretch of Victoria Dock and the Excel Centre!
1 mile and/or 5km distances available. All abilities and paces welcome and encouraged!
Followed by coffee and breakfast at The Good Hotel, or a really nice vegan breakfast place called Beans and Bubbles towards Canning Town!
https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/track-attack-coronation-weekend-workout-at-victoria-dock
100 Days of Action- Goodgym Islington x The Running Works Kit Swap
Friday 12th May, 6pm, The Running Works, Aldgate
Area Activator Simon will be opening The Running Works (London's largest independent running shop) for a special evening of sport kit swapping and recycling!
Bring your own under utilised kit and check out the options available for your next running, walking, gym, sports or Goodgym session!
More info can be seen here:
https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/100-days-of-action-running-kit-swap-shop-the-running-works
Night of the 10,000m PBs- Course marshalling team!
Saturday 20th May, 2pm-10pm (approx), Parliament Hill Track
Come and join us for one of the most exciting and important fixtures in the UK athletics calendar- The Highgate Harriers Night of the 10,000m PBs.
The brainchild of Ben Pochee, this event has been created to make endurance distance track running accessible and exciting for the whole world! Top runners from across the country and afar will be competing for places in the Commonwealth Games and national tournaments, and we will be holding an incredible party to let this happen!
Sign up here for more information:
https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/night-of-the-10-000m-pbs-saturday-show-time-volunteers
Feeling Chipper at Penn Road Gardens
Sunday 29th January
Written by Simon Fitzmaurice
Claire and Richard were the first Goodgym runners at Penn Road Community Gardens this morning, ready to help the local crew with their busy seasonal garden preparations (every 4th Sunday of the month, from 10-12am). Shortly after 10.20pm, Alison, Latoya and Simon arrived after running over from Highbury Fields junior parkrun this morning.
Tasks for today included plenty of sweeping, raking and clearing the entrance passageways for garden visitors, and loads of weeding on the main flowerbeds. We also helped with shifting some new mulch, composted from the bins we assisted with building about a year ago. Between us, we completely emptied one compost bin,and spread across the flower beds. Within 90 minutes, we also filled the compost bins with freshly shredded green waste from petrol driven chipping machine.
Fantastic job everyone. Great way to spend a Sunday morning!
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