We were back at SIN Cru this week, making the most of the continuing sunny weather! ☀️

Scott, Becky, Catherine and I met at Parkside Pool for a 3.5km group run to the task, taking it easy in the heat and stopping for plenty of water breaks 💧

Waiting for us and admiring our arrival (I believe Baywatch was referenced!) were Ilse and Sandra, who had joined by bike. After some mandatory dog-petting, we got stuck in: Becky, Sandra cleared an impressive amount of weeds, Ilse and I tried our best to paint a very uneven surface with very hard rollers, Catherine FINALLY cleared the wood chippings bag, and Scott once again showed off his impressive sawing skills 🪚

After some final pets, we set off as a team and strolled a fair way back together, sharing Percy Pigs and discussing Paul Chuckle. Somewhat reluctantly, the 4 runners eventually set off again, distracting ourselves with restaurant chat and plant-based dining 🍽

Great work again, team! 🙌

A brilliant evening spent helping SIN Cru at their Definitely Real Build site, continuing the wood clearing we started last month. They're creating a calm space for creativity, and the development has sustainability and biodiversity at its core. We're on board with that (last night, quite literally)!

It started with a run. All making the dash from work, Scott, Beth and Imet at Parkside and were joined this week by Kate and Alice. Having both done lots of good through community missions, it was fantastic to welcome them to their first group run 😎

It was the hottest evening so far this year, so we took it steady and chased the shade, winding our way up to North Cambridge, where we met Caroline, who had sped all the way across town on her bike. Arriving first, she had extra time for dog fuss!

After introductions and a briefing from Lucy, we split into a sawing crew and a wood pile crew. Back in his element, Scott wasted no time sawing down large wood beams at speed. There were a number of different methods trialled including a karate kid-style foot chop of strand board, which was occasionally successful. Alice and Caroline adopted an innovative approach, Caroline providing stability as a counter-weight. A very effective strategy as it turned out ⚖️

Nothing beats the feeling of successfully sawing through a piece of wood; all the effort for a very satisfying 'snap' as it comes free. There were cheers and celebrations all round as Kate sawed her first plank and Caroline conquered a particularly hefty section of tree trunk 🙌

To the back drop of whooping, the rest of us set to clearing the massive wood pile and bag of wood offcuts, taking them to be cut down or stacking in the wood store. Less muscle needed, but much more courage as the bag and pit were full of the most enormous spiders. 🕷️ Super-sized and super speedy, a respectful, mutually-agreed no-contact zone was soon in place.

After half an hour in the heat, energy was starting to wane, but the ever-thoughtful Beth had brought sweets and we were saved! 🍬 Drinks and shade (and more dog fuss) were in order.

Feeling recharged, we got back to it with bucket after bucket of wood making its way to be stored. We had some 'help' from our canine companions, but their sticks didn't make it to the store. 🤔

With Lucy delighted that we cleared the fire pit, which had not been seen for years, and the uncovered slugs and spiders much less delighted, it was time to go.

We enjoyed a cooler run back to Parkside (downhill on the way back, right?). Taking in the river views and reflecting on what a brilliant session it had been, we left, although slightly weary, more motivated for next week 💪

We were back at the Definitely Real Build site clearing a large wood pile to make space for the Green Trail project launch event next week.

After a run to Arbury from town we had a warm welcome onto site, serenaded by 2 very tuneful dogs. We soon got stuck in with Beth and I sorting and shifting the wood, and Scott sawing larger pieces down to size. It was a warm one, and after a pretty sweaty hour, we had the wood store full.

Sawing techniques were sometimes questionable, but it got the job done and we all left unharmed (largely thanks to Scott's inherent carpentry expertise). We can't guarantee the same for a spider and slug who we found having a standoff on one of the logs.

The task prompted us to reminisce about the heady days of school woodwork classes, carefully (yet badly) crafting bird boxes.

As any good session should, we ended with more fuss of adorable dogs before running back to town.

We'll be back for more with Sin Cru next month 🙌

Another great session at the Definitely Real Build site where we were preparing the ground for a community planting event next week. That meant clearing overgrown beds including some absolutely mammoth dandelions (grandelions?...).

Joining the amazing Lucy from SIN Cru, who provided the tunes, it was a proper workout. All work on site is carefully assessed by Lucy's canine site managers, who also get paws on and conduct a number of sniff checks.

I got busy digging and weeding, saving plants to be transferred to other parts of the site and leaving the ground ready for planting. Lucy was on fire with the mowing - quite literally, as the mower went up in smoke. After ensuring the whole event was captured for socials and agreeing there was really nothing we could do, we doubled down on digging.

In a couple of hours we had managed to transform a large area, which is always very satisfying. This is the first of a few sessions for the Definitely Real Build project, so if you like getting physical to the backdrop of exquisite tunes with the help of furry friends, then definitely join next time!

It was digging, digging and more digging at tonight's task!

We were helping SIN Cru prepare their site for an community event. As well as digging a little trench for a pipe, we were tasked with digging a hole for a mini trampoline. All part of a sensory walk, used for wellbeing activity on site.

Despite the rain, the soil was pretty hard, so the mattock did a lot of the heavy lifting. It was very satisfying and we were pros by the end of the evening. ⛏️

Many, many buckets of soil were excavated, so a good workout for us too. 💪

We finished up with a bit of weeding and tidying.

A great first task supporting SIN Cru, and we look forward to returning to help more as the project evolves.