We were back at Chiswick House last night for another lovely GoodGym Hounslow session, and what a treat we had in store: two tasks, both indoors! It was especially good timing with the evenings drawing in.

Chiswick House is a wonderful local resource and the team keep our green spaces thriving, protect their heritage and make them welcoming places for the whole community to enjoy. By helping with the behind-the-scenes jobs, we’re doing our bit to support a special place for local people.

We met up with Poppy and split into two teams to tackle our tasks for the evening.

🌱 Team Seeds

Half the group headed inside to sort through seeds collected from the garden and carefully pack them into pouches. These seeds will either be resown to help grow more beautiful plants or sold to raise funds for the charity. It was peaceful, chatty work, with plenty of time to catch up and discuss everything from the Pope to our upcoming birthday! Proof that chatting while GGing throws up some of the most interesting conversational topics.

🌿 Team Willow

Meanwhile, over in the barn, the other team got busy stripping willow branches before carefully manoeuvring them into arches. These will be planted to support the flowers in the herbaceous borders, helping them grow securely.

This task took a fair bit of skill and dexterity, but GoodGym Hounslow were more than up to the challenge! There were expert demonstrations of willow stripping, along with a spot of country dancing - anyone else remember the Stripping the Willow formation?

It was a thoroughly wholesome and productive evening, with plenty achieved and lots of good company along the way.

🏃 We rounded off the evening with a run back to base, breaking it up with a variety of fitness stations. A little extra exercise to finish off a brilliant session — and some very impressive pictures to prove it!

Next week: We’re heading to Duke’s Meadow to clear a space for young people. Another great opportunity to give something back to our local community, get moving and have a good chat along the way.

See you there, GoodGym Hounslow! ❤️

As the autumn evenings rapidly draw in, the GoodGym Hounslow crew gathered for some energetic warm-ups to get the blood pumping before heading into the twilight. Headlight season is officially upon us!

Warmed up and raring to go we headed down to Staveley Road where we met up with Michelle and Alanna. Last night's mission was to support Wild Chiswick, a fantastic local charity dedicated to increasing awareness of local wildlife, conducting vital citizen science, and creating robust urban habitats. This includes building hedgehog highways to managing a dedicated wildlife allotment plot - and this is where we working last night to help it get ready for winter.

With tools in hand, the team split up to tackle a variety of tasks across the plot:

• The Artichoke Excavators: Steph and Maxime took on the Jerusalem artichoke beds. They dug deep and found absolutely loads of bulbs which will be planted in spring
• The Weeding Wizard: David took charge of the first bed, meticulously weeding it until it was completely clear and ready for its next phase
• The Hedgerow Heroes: Jon and Michelle tackled the (currently mini) hedgerows, weeding between them to ensure they grow back stronger
• The Allium Avengers: Alanna and Gus teamed up to chop down the alliums and dig out the dead matter, tidying up the debris to keep the patch healthy

With the tasks successfully completed, we switched our headlamps to high beam and headed back to base. The return run offered plenty of interest, including a stop to admire a charming local attraction—a tiny diorama nestled right at the Chiswick traffic lights! We chatted along the way, discussing the old philosophical paradox: why bad news is actually good news. GoodGym sessions are nothing if not varied!

It is never too early to get into the festive spirit. Next week, we are escaping the autumn chill and heading indoors for a lovely seasonal task. We will be helping out and getting everything ready for Christmas at the beautiful Chiswick House and Gardens. Don't miss out on the indoor festive fun—go ahead and sign up for next week's session here!