Seven Goodgymmers journeyed deep into the heart of darkness as they battled with the temperate jungle that had taken over the Westbury Banks Nature Reserve.

Watch It Bring You To Your N-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-nees. Knees!

It was a 'welcome to the jungle/ we got fun and games/ we got everything you want, honey/ we know the names' kind of evening for our Goodgymmer tonight as they put pedal to the metal and partook in some heavy-duty gardening at the Westbury Banks Nature Reserve.

Let's call a spade a spade, that was a hard task. The Reserve has found itself without a lot of attention over the last few months, and it showed as the site was overgrown to such an extent that we had to start strimming from the gate to create a way into the tool shed! It turns out you leave nature alone and it explodes.... who knew!

Our Goodgymmers were undeterred and on they ploughed like total badasses, with Nasser in his sophomore task leading the way blazing a trail for the rest of us with his trusty strimmer.

Not far behind, Julie armed herself with a hedge trimmer and attacked the overgrown fields of stinging nettles with gusto, while Nurjehan and Niamh, armed with loopers, gave the taller trees a trim. Ed and Clare in the meantime, cleared Amazonic levels of foliage and debris and made sure it was all composted nicely at the back of the Reserve. Our hour came and went before you knew it, so we tidied the tools away, took some selfies, and made our way home, the stinging of the nettles burning strong on our naked legs. Definitely a win for the Hardcore Crew! 

New task next week - Come!!!

Three hardcore Goodgymmers visited the Westbury Banks Nature Reserve for a spot for wildflower planting.

They first got the beds ready, by pulling out loads of ivy and deeply-rooted weeds.

Then, they sprinkled wildflower seeds everywhere like little fairy dust. Fingers crossed for a flowery meadow this summer!

4 Goodgymmers battled with the slippery slopes at the Westbury Banks Nature Reserve as they lent a hand to the Friends group with a bit of a facelift.

Ivy'n Told There Are No Ivy Puns Left To Use

Dave, Niamh, Charlie, and Yours Truly came together on a very drizzly night in Turnpike Lane for a spot of tree planting at the Westbury Banks Nature Reserve.

The Friends group is hoping to create a natural cover for the Reserve and we came to help. We planted a total of 18 trees along the fence on the Westbury Avenue border of the site in the hope that as they grow, there will create a green flowery screening for this much loved green space.

It wasn't all plain sailing, however. We had to fight against a very stubborn ivy cover that had spread all along the floor and its roots were asphyxiating everything around it. While Dave and Charlie discussed how to best deal with it, Niamh took matters into her own hands and, with surgical precision, proceeded to pull the s%$£ out of the poor ivy. The creeping evergreen didn't stand a chance. Before you knew it, Charlie and Dave, armed with loppers and spades had joined in the carnage and the ivy was no more.

We tidied the newly-dug up bed and tucked in the new trees.

14 dog roses, 3 hazels, and a blackthorn are now sitting proudly along the fence at the Reserve and they will hopefully have fewer battles with the resident ivy.

By 8pm, and in the absence of our much-loved and much-missed timekeeper, it fell to Gramps to call an end to the proceedings. But not before we made time for some selfies and quizzing Dave about this week's Film Club offering.

Come next week!

10 Goodgymmers wrestled away from their warm duvets on a very chilly Sunday morning and headed to the Westbury Banks Nature Reserve for a smorgasboard of tasks.

Big Noise Corner!

Everybody make some noise for Nina, Naoko, Jacob, Ed, and Angeliki who all joined us for their first ever Goodgym task. They all bounded full of hope and enthusiasm as they met Gramps at the basketball courts in Turnpike Lane for our first taster session of the year and they were ace. Hope to see you all again soon - unless you're about to set off for a 4-month tour of the Caribbean (wink, wink, Nina) in which case, hope to see you in the summer. Bring Gramps some rum, please.

"I've only ever run for the bus"

Actual words, actually spoken by an actual person at a Goodgym task this weekend! Wonderful Angeliki not only did smash her Goodgym debut on Sunday but she also did her first actual run ever as an adult. With us. On a freezing weekend morning. She very sneakily only pointed this out halfway through a fun fitness session at the end of the task (!) as she was asking what other Goodgyms she could go to. Yes, that's a tear in Gramps eye. No, it's not the rum talking #DryJan Running looks good on you, Angeliki! 💪🏾

"We love the smell of stirred pond in the morning"

The Wood Green community has big plans for the WBNR this Spring and we were beckoned to help this weekend.

So 8 runners, 2 cyclists, and 2 1/2 walkers met at the Reserve to start clearing the accessible paths ahead of some community workshops later in the year. Storm Xxx had knocked down some big trees and Ed, Nina, and Angeliki armed themselves with heavy duty loppers and started clearing up the biggest branches from the paths. Jacob, Latoya, Kathleen, Charlie and John concentrated on some hardcore weeding of the main accessible path at the bottom of the site. Meanwhile, Naoko, Jase, Marie and little Artemis carried out a very thorough litter pick.

It was a busy hour and our team did a cracking job, leaving the Reserve pretty clean and half of the accessible path cleared. The ground was too cold for tree-planting so we protected the young trees as much as we could and we are looking for a date in the diary to return and finish the job.

Once finished, Jase, Marie, and Artemis walked home and Naoko and Jacob also cycled homewards. Latoya, Angeliki, John, and Nina walked back to Turnpike Lane to wait for Charlie, Kathleen, Edward, and Gramps who ran back for a quick fitness session. We played some twisted Rock/Paper/Scissors before Latoya inevitably tortured us all with Moby's Flower - if you know, you know.

After a good ol' GGHaringey high five, we also said goodbye and went off our merry ways.

As taster sessions go, that was a peach. Boom

Ready for more? Meet us on Wednesday for Tottenham Green shenanigans!

8 Goodgymmers battled with the big freeze in North London to lend a hand at the Westbury Bank Nature Reserve.

Big Woop Woop Corner

Let's have a big Woop Woop for Caroline who proved herself a Gold Start Debutant by getting stuck in with all the madness and hard graft of a classic winter GGHaringey task with such an ease that you could have easily assumed she has always been part of the furniture. A natural. Come again! :)

And also make some noise for Queen Khan who is smashing her 250th parkrun this weekend at Lordship Rec. #Loveparkrun #dfyb

Thanks to Punmeister General Charlie for today's pun.

Finally, looking forward to weekly installments of JULIE Vs THE VOLCANO. We'll miss you, Julie <3

We Got The Measure Of This Task

So long, 2023. Farewell, you cruel fiend - we shan't miss you. And Welcome 2024, don't you look gorgeous loaded with all that hope and positivity. Cutie Pie!

And on that note we congregated on a very cold Wednesday night at Blue House Yard for our first proper task of this lovely new year. Caroline, joining us for her first task, and Raj, making his triumphant return, were first on the scene and were deep in conversation by the time Gramps reached them. We were soon joined by Dave and Charlie and off we went for a gentle 1.5kish run to the Westbury Bank Nature Reserve, where we were joined by a crutch-less Niamh, a blanket-covered Nurjehan, and lady-of-greatly-earned-leisure Julie.

Tasks for the evening included tidying up and sorting a tool shed; trimming some branches that were leaning over the fences into the streets; a thorough litter pick; and some measuring of the Reserve.

Caroline and Raj armed themselves with loppers and wasted no time in giving the over-exuberant trees a trim; while Dave, Charlie, and Julie began clearing the cobwebs and sorting out the tools at the Reserve's shed; and Niamh and Nurjehan litter picked to their hearts content.

Everyone worked with a spring in their step and we started making our way through our jobs pretty quickly. Special mention to SuperDave who went above and beyond, quite literally, and climbed into the shed to move things along.

The hour flew by and we even had time to measure the length and breadth of the tree avenue at the top of the Reserve where the local community is hoping to build a handrail/fence this Spring.

We stopped just before 8 for some selfies/cuddles/high fives and we all made our way home, in the hope of defrosting our weary bones before bed. A classic GGHaringey winter task indeed.

We'll be back at the Reserve this Sunday for a starter session. Come! and tell yo' friends!

4 non-arachnophobic Goodgymmers got entangled in a myriad of spiderwebs as they lent a hand to the Friends of Westbury Banks Nature Reserve.

Queen Julie

All hail the all-conquering Julie who completed her 100th marathon over the weekend. Hero.

Congrats also to everyone else who completed Julie's 100th race or the Big Half on what was frankly a ridiculously hot day for it. You all rule! <3

Into The Spiderverse

The beautiful sign to the Westbury Banks Nature Reserve had to come down following a number of letter thefts and weather damage so it felt fitting that we were invited to do the deed, having been the team entrusted with putting them up in the first place a couple of years back.

When Gramps arrived there, however, the site was a spider heaven and the risk assessment check for the site involved clearing a path to the letters through a multitude of 8-legged creatures. Even for a non-arachnophobe, this was an icky job.

All the same, by the time Dave, Rosa, and Nurjehan arrived to the site, Gramps was mostly in one piece (if a bit evolutionary shaken in a deep and private place) and our team got on with the job at hand.

First we did a thorough litter pick of the site, so the Reserve looked ace from the road once the letters came down.

Then, one by one, the letters came down. I'd like to say it was a sombre and respectful affair, but the team of Dave and Rosa were absolutely ruthless. The letters tumbled down faster than a 9 pound wheel of Double Gloucester cheese on Cooper's Hill.

Once we had stored the old letters away and removed all non-recyclable tags, we called it quits for the evening and we all headed home.

Join us next week for a new task at Ally Pally!