Throughout the month of March, members of GoodGym independently embarked on litter-picking missions in their local communities. Armed with gloves and bags, these dedicated volunteers hit the streets, parks, and trails, gathering litter and debris to keep their neighbourhoods clean and green. With thumbs ready for action, GoodGym members demonstrated their commitment to both fitness and environmental stewardship, making a tangible difference.

One of the things that I do ahead of Catford parkrun most Saturday’s is the ‘course check’, while it is intended as a check for trip hazards and obstructions, I often get there earlier than I need to and pick up litter too as I wander around the beautiful Mountsfield Park. I spent an hour or so on the  penultimate Saturday of March litter picking, probably a black bin bag’s worth - it was mainly takeaway detritus, but Corona lager was clearly on offer somewhere locally as it was the choice of the park drinker that weekend.

Paul

The promise of sweeties tempted 27 GGers out on a chilly March evening to lend a hand to the front garden at Fishergate Primary School, which was in need of a bit of a face-lift.

We started proceedings by numbering off whilst listing things to be afraid of. Lyndsey conveniently listed her number (13) as something to fear, but we also Jamie's suggestion of FOMO and Joanna's fear of decision making as some great examples. It was then time for the short dash across to the task with Ed leading a sea of red shirts, and Vicky bringing up the rear.

At the task we were joined by Martin, Jenna, Anna and Charlotte and soon got stuck into the gardening. Rich declared himself the man with the bin and collected the various bits of rubbish dotted around, whilst others got stuck into weeding, pruning and clearing.

With everyone working hard on the ground to get the garden looking 👌, Mitch decided he'd think outside the box and look higher up for his opportunity to make a difference. A rogue black bin bag stuck up a tree was the goal and it was no match for Mitch armed with a spade, who had acted against all advice and climbed the tree to retrieve it.

Opportunities for further weeding and pruning were dwindling as the task wore on, so mind's started think about potential future tasks with Rich spotting a tree guard that looked like it was in need of removal. Obviously GG York are absolute pros at tree guard removal nowadays!

After a few last minute bits of weeding it was time for a team photo before heading off for Vicky's fitness sesh - Head, Shoulders, Knees and Cones! The game involved moving around a circle of cones before dashing into the middle to pick up a sweet reward. The sweets dwindled as the session went on, which led to a bit of pushing and shoving to get the most in demand sweets.

We then headed back to CVS for a photo with the coveted Golden Trowel (the prize for the most good deeds done in the January Challenge) and then sampled some of Nikki's delicious fudge which also turned out to be part of your 5-a-day 😋

Great session everyone 💪

Let’s keep our spirits high and our streets clean! Remember, every piece of litter we pick up is a step toward a greener, happier community. So, let’s March on together and make a difference! Feel free to share this with your fellow litter collectors, and may your March mission be as successful as your February efforts! 🌿🚮

Thank you, Linda for your email, please see below.

Great idea setting up a community mission for February to encourage litter picking! This is a passion of mine, especially right now because I'm conscious that, at this time of year, litter lurking on verges is still easy to spot and clear but will soon disappear under springtime plant growth then remain hidden, polluting the environment and harming wildlife for months ahead.

Just sending you a couple of pics from my efforts clearing rubbish from the banks of the River Ravensbourne in Ladywell Fields, Lewisham - now a daily activity for me as it makes my walks with my elderly, increasingly slow dog feel more satisfying.

When I decided to buy my own litter picker, I was chuffed to find one made by Waterhaul, a social enterprise collecting fishing nets washed up on beaches and recycling the plastic into useful products... kinda neat to be able to remove plastic waste from the environment without adding to the problem of plastic production, particularly as plastics are made from fossil fuels. I try to avoid using plastic bin bags too and instead collect the litter in a beach bag, then afterwards sort the items into either my recycling container or wheelie bin back at home.

Linda

thanks, also to Paul for writing in.

I did the litter pick in Catford's wonderful Mountsfield Park, combining it with the Course Check for parkrun. As is usually the case over the winter, the main debris collected were paper coffee cups, take away wrappers plus a few beer cans. Probably about a black sack's worth was collected, although I emptied it into bins that I past. The strangest thing found was a mug which I have seen and rescued before last year, probably lost again by a dog walker. Hope this is of use, let me know if there is anything else that you need.

Paul

It was awards night at GG York this week as we celebrated 4 people hitting some pretty chunky milestones. So much so that there wasn't enough capes to go around. But don't worry, everyone had a chance to twirl in the appropriate Cape of Good Deeds at some point.

First up it was the turn of Nick and Nikki who both celebrated their 300th(!) good deeds this evening (or not too long ago, sorry!). Give them a big ol' cheer 👏

Next it was the turn of a very late Abigail who recently completed her 100th good deed. Send some cheers her way 🙌

And since it was the closest group run to valentines day, what better way to name and number off than by naming the thing we love most about GoodGym. Needless to say there were some sickly-sweet answers along with Ed forgetting his wife existed ❤️

Then on to the task sandwiched by the Co-Area Activators where we met by Richard and Martin, who got the biggest cheer of the night for celebrating his 50th good deed. Well done Martin 👏

As for the task itself, there was a very smelly pond, some very squelchy boggy bits, some rapid blackboard painting, some digging and some bark chip spreading. James and Neil spent far too long failing to get some loppers unstuck whilst everyone else got stuck in to the various tasks on offer. So much so that there task was completed with a bit of time to spare 💪

Then it was off to Scarcroft Green for a fitness session that first saw GGers struggle to organise themselves into groups of 4, before having to perform 4 sets of various exercises before a quick dash to drop off a cone (repeat x 4). 4 reps, 4 sets, 4 cones and teams of 4 on a night with 4 milestones celebrated. All that was left to do was head to the pub for a few beers (although I drew the line at 3, not 4. It was a school night after all)