Our final task of a jam-packed weekend was back at Sneinton Primary's allotment.

Natalie got straight to work mowing the whole area to keep it neat and tidy for the kids to get around. Meanwhile, Robert, Leah and another new GoodGymer, Sophie (thanks for joining us!), cleared a patch of nettles, brambles and grasses to create a herb garden, bordered with some of the bricks we had recovered on a previous task.

Smallest GoodGymers Carys and Milo helped Kathryn and her children water all the plants to help them through the lovely sunny period we've been having. They also got to help plant some of Kathryn's huge variety of mints in the new herb garden (and enjoy a delicious home-baked cookie at the end).

A motley crew of GoodGymers headed over to the Sneinton Primary School allotment for another morning of renovations.

Most of the team headed up to the top of the plot where we've previously cleared bushes and bricks and created a dead hedge by weaving bamboo sticks Kathryn had brought along. We then moved loads of dead branches and brambles over to make the "hedge" itself. Hopefully the frogs we saw hopping around will move in over the next few days. Kathryn explained the benefit of this kind of boundary lies in the fact that you've always got somewhere to put trimmings as it slowly rots away, and that it creates a habitat for wildlife.

While this was going on, Rachel weeded some of the children's flowerbeds and Tom pulled out some very deeply rooted brambles. Oliver did some strimming and Natalie got heartily stuck in to moving bricks around to create some borders around the fruit trees.

Some of the team even decided to stay on a bit past 12 to finish the job!

Thanks again to all who came, as Kathryn said, "you guys are legends"! Apologies that I forgot to grab the group pic from Kathryn, I'll upload it once I get it!

Four Nottingham GoodGymers returned to the Sneinton Primary School Community Allotment on Sunday. On arrival, Kathryn explained that our latest task was to move some bricks that had been piled and dumped at the back of the allotment into a more orderly pile in the middle. Leah, Emma and Rachel L set to work on this. We were helped by Kathryn’s 5-year old daughter, Ava, who did a super job and enjoyed uncovering the hundreds of bugs and insects that had been living under the bricks.

Meanwhile, Rachel W and Kathryn worked on clearing another area at the back of the allotment. They managed to get through so much that at one point we lost them into the neighbouring plot!

Before downing tools, we had time for a quick litter pick of the outside path and a photo by our brick pile to finish off another great hour at the allotment. The sun even made an appearance which made us all feel very spring-like and glad that the early morning rain had not tempted us to cancel.

We were delighted to welcome Emma to her first GoodGym task – hope to see you again soon!

For our first task of 2024, 11 GoodGymers made their way back to Sneinton Primary School Community Allotment on a chilly but sunny morning in Nottingham. The ever-cheerful Kathryn met us and set us to work on various tasks around the allotment.

Natalie, Rebecca F, Rebecca N and Oliver took on the overgrowth and brambles at the back of the garden, unearthing quite a few balls which had found their way in from the neighbouring school (much fun was had throwing these back!). Meanwhile Nigel and Rachel W did a sterling job digging for soil and filling one of the empty beds. Mark helped Kathryn reposition some of the wooden posts in the decking area before also tackling the brambles, and Serafina and Rachel L worked on weeding the beds and vegetable patches. Last, but by no means least, Leah and Rob took on litter picking in the hedges on the path outside the allotment, aided by our miniest GoodGym members, Carys and Milo who did a great job on their first task.

After a very productive hour, we downed tools and had some of Kathryn’s homemade treats – the Christmas pudding brownie was a revelation!

We were delighted to see Natalie, Rebecca, Oliver and Robert at their first GoodGym task. We also welcomed Mark and Rebecca who were visiting us from London where they are involved in GoodGym. We look forward to seeing everyone again soon!

The rain held off for Sunday’s task which saw two of us head to Sneinton Primary School’s Community Allotment. We met Kathryn on arrival and helped her move some tools and equipment from the road up to the allotment. We then set to work clearing an area at the back of the garden, removing brambles and ivy. The idea is that this area will eventually be a bug house where the children can view creepy crawlies.

After an hour we downed tools and were treated to a bit of chocolate cake curtesy of Kathryn!

The allotment is a lovely peaceful space and we had a view of the Greens Windmill and Science Centre which is right next door. Kathryn and some of the other parents have big plans to develop the allotment further and we hope to visit again to help out in the near future.