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!

What a lovely task at Holy Trinity Lamorbey Primary School this evening!

After a short run from our meeting point at Sidcup Leisure Centre, Jane the vice principal, explained her plans for turning a stack of pallets into bug hotels in the school's outdoor learning area.

With ideas like this it's well deserved that Jane was recently named Bexley Eco Teacher of the Year 2026, and the school was awarded as runner up in the Bexley Eco Primary School of the Year. (And it's fair to say that we are proud our work at the school has made a small contribution towards this.)

Following Jane's instructions, we set about collecting twigs, branches, leaves, fir cones and bricks from around the grounds, and tore up some cardboard boxes. Then we started building: filling an upside down pallet with the natural materials and cardboard, placing a brick in each corner as a spacer, positioning another pallet on top... and repeating several times until... voilà... we'd made a new wildlife habitat!

We had time to build a second one before packing up and celebrating Ashton's 100th good deed. That's a whole lot of helping out in our local community, and it felt right that Ashton should wear our superhero cape to mark the occasion!

In the coming weeks, pupils at Holy Trinity Lamorbey Primary will continue adding more material into the bug hotels, and we'll be back in a month to add roofs and wire casing to stop the contents falling out.

If you fancy spending some fun time outdoors in a midweek antidote to a busy day at work, come along and join us.

Last night brought us to Plumstead, some of us running by the river, others walking and meeting us at the location for our glamorous task of litter picking a particularly grotty spot. Good deeds definitely earned for this one! Thankfully the rain held off and we busily collected a whopping 28 bags of bottles, wrappers, and oddly some hair? It's surely Incredibles what 11 commited GoodGymers can achieve in a short space of time - great work everyone.

A huge welcome back to Kevin, who has already smashed FOUR tasks since joining last week 👏 and big cheers to Hope on your second GGG group run, great to have you with us again!

This weekend we've got lots going on:

Saturday 16th

• Flyering for MumsAid at Peninsula Parkrun: https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/distribute-flyers-for-mumsaid-at-greenwich-peninsula-parkrun

• Gardening at Oxleas Woods: https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/gardening-at-oxleas-woods

• Cleaning up at the pet cemetery: https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/clean-up-at-the-old-blue-cross-pet-cemetery-e6d263c5-2c11-43fa-8e77-c9efd3ea628d

Sunday 17th

• Helping at the Charlton plant sale: https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/helping-at-the-cabahs-plant-sale-e6216869-db5c-4f0f-870d-836747fe587f

• Gardening at Hervey road: https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/gardening-at-hervey-road-community-garden

Next week

Tuesday

https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/moving-furniture-and-cleaning-at-the-wsup

Wednesday

Sweeping at Morden College and social 🍻: https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/sweeping-by-morden-college-and-social

Until next time!

Rachel

10 goodgym-ers met for tonight's task at Woolwich Crossrail, and after a hop, skip, & an ice-breaker discussing favourite toys, made our way uphill to one of our regular venues,  Dee's Childcare. We'd hedged our bets on what tasks awaited us, often presented with garden toy-making adventures of our own at this nursery with a fantastic outdoor space.

Once there, while one group got on with weeding the crop- growing beds in the back garden, team Hedge embraced their inner beauticians,  clipping away at a massive hedge growing on on side of the front driveway which had become overgrown & blocking the natural light to the front of the building. Defoliage-ation indeed!

Bags & green bins full of greenery for recycling, we all finished the task in a much better Hedge space.

Welcome to GoodGym Greenwich to Hope and Kevin!  Thanks all & see you soon 😊 

Run report by Sarah M