Last night 12 of us gathered, some for the run and some meeting at the task. The sweaty ones arrived to a very prompt group waiting at Montessori House (I love our group, you're always on time - except for Ivar obviously who is always compulsively early.)

We haven't been here for a long time and have previously painted the outdoor fence which was off the cards tonight due to the rain so instead the main task was to paint the hallway. Thankfully Wendy and Mr Roger were very well prepared with the floor covered and all the rollers and brushes at the ready for us to get started. It was definitely a tight squeeze for 12 of us but we managed to organise ourselves and get the job done to I think a pretty good standard in half an hour and everyone seemed to still be friends by the end, despite a few painted rear ends 😆

Special welcome to Megan and Rubaina for your first tasks with us and hope you'll be back for more soon!

This weekend as well as the Parkruns we've got conservation at Oxleas Woods

And Hornfair Juniors on Sunday.

Next Wednesday we're at Prince Philip Maritime Museum where we'll be doing some odd jobs and gardening.

Until next time!

Rachel 👋

What a lovely morning with the Friends of Lesnes Abbey and Woods (FOLAW)!

Their woodland conservation sessions take place on the first Sunday of every month and, as usual, we met at The Lodge. There was a big turnout today, with our GoodGym red t-shirts adding a vibrant splash of colour to the proceedings.

Marc from FOLAW had already pre-loaded wheelbarrows with equipment, so we trundled them a short distance into the woods to an area earmarked to become a coppice of hazel trees. Eventually, the hazel will be used for woodcrafts, reviving a traditional way of managing the woodland that would have been common at Lesnes Abbey in centuries gone by.

But before any new tree saplings can be planted, there’s a mammoth task ahead: clearing the long tract of land of ivy, brambles and fallen branches.

So we got to work!

With so many people, it was a hive of activity and a buzz of chatting as everyone worked alongside each other. Some used loppers and shears to cut through the green carpet of ivy and bramble tendrils, pulling and scooping everything up and ferrying it to one side to gently rot away. Some dug out bramble roots to try to curb their re-invasion plans, and others coordinated their weight-lifting efforts to lift move large fallen branches out of the way.

It was impressive to see just how much ground was cleared before we headed to the Chestnuts kiosk for coffees in the sunshine. ☕️

These sessions are a wonderful way to spend time outdoors, meet new people from FOLAW, catch up with familiar faces and be part of a initiative that’s helping restore an area of the ancient woodland to a more traditional form of management.

We’ll be back next month to keep the project growing! 🌱

A fine October morning met us as we gathered for our monthly tasks at the Maryon Wilson Community Garden. Special welcome to Mason and Kenny for their first group sessions with GGG - great to have you join us and hope we'll see you again soon!

Tim and Edna met us, prepared as ever with a great range of jobs in the garden, including sieving compost to spread on the new daffodil bulbs to be planted, and painting the fences.

Jobs were divvied up and an hour later we'd completed a good deal enough to feel like we deserved some of the spread they put on for us to replenish our energy stores ready for the rest of the day.

A lovely morning spent in lovely company - great job team!

Coming up

• Tomorrow we've got maintenance at Westcombe Woodlands

• On Wednesday we're painting at Montessori House

• Next Saturday we're doing conservation at Oxleas Woods

Until next time!

Rachel