Two Goodgymmers spared their afternoons on a blisteringly hot day to help steward the Barnet MultiFaith Forum's annual Faith and Peace Walk.

Around 50 people from all faiths and none came together for a tour of East Barnet's religious and green spaces. Starting from Christ Church by Cockfosters tube, we toured several locations at a gentle pace along a roughly 5km route, with regular stopping points to hydrate and learn about the history of the area and about nature and biodiversity.

We finished up at Holy Trinity Church, Lyonsdown for refreshments, stalls from various community groups, growers and faith leaders, with speeches and thanks.

Fantastic opportunity to survey local river (The Lee) as it passes through arable landscape. Very surprising results with high levels of pollutant scored. Very interesting science lesson as well.

I carried out my monitoring at Dollis Brook in Finchley, a serene and easily accessible section of the stream. The shallow water and good access made it an ideal location for phosphate and nitrogen testing using the Earthwatch kit. I found the process surprisingly easy and, perhaps not so surprisingly, very relaxing — there’s something naturally calming about listening to the water and the birds around you. It’s a great way to engage with your local river, and I would thoroughly recommend trying it yourself. Based on my tests, Dollis Brook appeared to be in fairly good condition, especially considering its urban setting.

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We collected shoes and played shoe pong.