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!

We had multiple jobs to do at Strand on the Green School last night — finishing off painting the nursery, moving a huge terrace-full of old furniture and toys down the stairs to the skip, and hedge cutting. Three different jobs, three skill sets, no problem.

We ran over to the task where we met caretaker Clare and got straight to work. Michelle, Breda, Lucy and Emily tackled the nursery painting, Jon, Kash, Maxime, Chris, Jonny and Fran became an efficient furniture-moving conveyor belt up and down the stairs, while Gus and Luis turned hedge cutting into an art form outside.

Within just 45 minutes all three jobs were complete. With 12 of us working for 45 minutes, that’s the equivalent of 9 hours (or a full working day!) of work saved for one caretaker — and Clare was delighted with how much time we’d saved her.

With the jobs done, it was time for a lower body blast with three different intensity options to keep everyone moving. We’re also all still wondering what Michelle’s mysterious final blue item could be… answers on a postcard.

After that, we headed back to base for stretches on the grass and a well-earned cool down.

Next week we’re off to Gunnersbury to sort compost — see you there for what will hopefully be a slightly cooler task!

Breda and Gus met a few other volunteers at Gunnersbury Park Museum to help setup the scene for the 100th birthday celebration of the park on the bank holiday Monday.

We were soon to get started on moving tables one by one from the museum car park into the conservatory by the pond until a truck was found to actually move the whole thing in one go. We loaded the truck with tables (too many at first so ended unloading half of them), speakers, amp and tutti quanti. That was an opportunity to visit new places within the museum! Basement, secret storage, offices.

After moving all the tables, setting them up in the conservatory, bringing also so water cooler and contemplating a job well done, it was time for the most important part of the mission: a nice and cold refreshement in the form of a delicious juice from the park cafe.

On this gardening mission, assistance was provided to an elderly resident in W5 to help improve and maintain her garden. The tasks completed included weeding garden beds to remove unwanted plants and clear space for new growth. Flower bulbs were then planted carefully in prepared areas to encourage seasonal blooms and improve the appearance of the garden.

In addition, all newly planted bulbs and surrounding plants were watered thoroughly to help them establish and maintain healthy growth. The work helped tidy the garden and create a more pleasant outdoor space for Ms C in W5.