On a blowy Wednesday evening, we ran up to Popesfield Allotments to continue work on a task that Breda, Maxime and Gus had already made a great start on a few weeks back.

The allotments are managed by Cultivate London, an organisation that creates and supports community growing spaces across west London. Their work helps local people access green space, learn gardening skills, improve biodiversity and grow food locally, making sites like Popesfield a valuable resource for the community.

Our mission for the evening was to empty three large compost beds - or at least make some inroads into the huge piles! The compost itself looked rich and healthy, but unfortunately the tenants had been adding plants infected with blight and other contaminated material. That meant the compost couldn't be reused and needed clearing out completely.

The wheelbarrows were, at best, temperamental. At worst, they seemed actively opposed to the task. There were plenty of spills along the way, but we soon established an effective chain, shovelling, barrowing and emptying at a steady pace. Despite the logistical challenges, we managed to shift an impressive amount of material over the course of the session.

The allotments were buzzing with biodiversity with plenty of woodlice and worms, and as we revealed more of the compost's inhabitants a clever robin appeared and wasted no time taking advantage of the freshly turned soil. It boldly hopped around grabbing as many bugs as it possibly could. It seemed entirely unbothered by our presence and happily watched us while enjoying its feast.

With the compost beds looking much less full, we headed off into the evening. Next week we're back at Chiswick House See you then!