The GoodGym team joined the Friends of Danson Park today for a rewarding session of litter picking, shrubbery trimming and woodchip transporting. 💪🌳

Ten journeys from one end of the park to the other gave everyone a great workout while helping to renew the path at the entrance of the Woodland Walk.

Afterwards, we headed to The Stables which kindly provided teas and coffees, while we chatted with the other friendly volunteers.

A fantastic team effort for the local community and nature! 🌿👏

Next month's session in the park will be tree planting as part of National Tree Week. Hope to see you there!

On Saturday morning we arrived at the Maryon Park Community Garden, ready to get stuck into our task for this month which included varnishing the fence and hosing down the toys in the kids area. In no time we were teamed up and getting splashed, muddy and varnishy getting the jobs done as well as lots of chatting between ourselves and with the lovely Tim and Edna who were hospitable as always, providing snacks and drinks after our exertions. I say "our", but Arthur and I mainly chatted to Edna and read books so I'm not sure I should get a good deed for that 😅

We left with a gift of mint from the herb garden for our meals and off to the rest of our weekends.

Great job team, we'll be back next month!

Coming up:

On wednesday we're back at Hervey Road: https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/gardening-at-hervey-road-sports-field-6f25b74e-293a-42d3-bce6-72d39ae8195f

Saturday 11th: Helping at CCRA's community day: https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/help-out-at-ccra-s-annual-community-day

Sunday 12th: Clean up Charlton: https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/clean-up-charlton-3ff675ce-0b0d-462b-965c-49c86a8cf326 And Bostall Woods Family Fun Day (time slots): https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/help-out-at-bostall-gardens-family-fun-day

Until next time!

Rachel

In a welcome respite from the intense heat of the last week Good Gym arrived at Woolwich Common for the monthly litter pick. I'm never quite sure if a good litter picks means lots of bags full of rubbish or the slim pickings that renew your faith in humanity a bit more. Today was more of the latter with most of us returning with relatively empty bags after an hour. The returns included the usual array of trash but todays highlights were some monopoly money and the longest tape measure your author has ever seen.

Things weren't looking promising for tonight's task as a dramatic thunderstorm — complete with forked lightning and torrential rain ⛈️ — rolled in just as we gathered at Danson Watersports Centre.

The plan was to take to the water for The Big Paddle Clean Up, litter-picking from kayaks and rowing boats 🛶 🚣‍♂️ to reach rubbish lurking along the banks that can't be accessed from the shore.

Along with volunteers from The Friends of Danson Park, a local Scout pack and Meridian Canoe Club, we huddled in the watersports reception, watching the skies and hoping the weather would ease. Not the best start for Jay's first ever GoodGym session.

Thankfully, though, the storm passed and we got the all clear to get going!

After a safety briefing, our water-based volunteers got kitted out in waterproofs and buoyancy aids before launching onto the lake. Meanwhile, two of us GoodGymers opted to stay on dry land, preferring a more traditional litter-picking approach and clocking up an impressive step count with a full lap of the lake.

The weather must have sensed that we were lending Mother Nature a hand. Before long, the storm clouds had disappeared, replaced by blue skies and glorious warm evening sunshine.

There was plenty of chatting and teamwork throughout the evening and, encouragingly, not a huge amount of litter to collect. Always a positive sign!

The time flew by and, once the boats were back on shore, everyone gathered for a well-earned hot drink and biscuits before heading home.

GoodGym tasks are always varied, but this one felt particularly special. How often do you get to go litter-picking by boat? We had a fantastic evening and can't wait to get involved again next year!