Second Monday of the month means GoodGym Richmond Signature task! Starting at the Tap Tavern and giving a very warm welcome to Sam and Kayley joining for the first time, we had a proper warm-up, preparing for this month's fitness session.

Following a run along the river (accompanied by a ridiculous number of gnats!) the group got into some squats, jumps, lunges, pike reach throughs and flutter kicks before getting stuck into the tasks.

Between us we managed to turn the compost, sweep the arcade, dust cobwebs, water the Three Pigeons plot, cut back the pampas, pull out a lot of the riverside weeds, dead head and rake up! There is always more to do at such a lovely spot, and we had some very welcome thanks from passers-by too 😍

The evening finished with drinks and a chat at the White Cross, what a way to start the week!

On a lovely warm and sunny Saturday morning, 6 Goodgymers joined the Friends of Ham Lands for our monthly session of habitat improvement and preservation.

The session started with a short talk from Paul, who explained his work on monitoring insect life in the hawthorns on the Ham Lands, and how it has been a bumper year especially for caterpillars.

Our task for the day, to nobody's huge surprise, was tackling brambles - this time those hemming the edges of bushes and hawthorn trees in an area at the northern boundary. We went at them with gusto, enjoying the warmth of the sun as we built up piles of removed brambles before moving them into the undergrowth.

A warm welcome to Helen who joined for her first session!

June be a skipped month for this mission, we will be back on the Ham Lands in July, on Saturday 11th.