An evening of firsts for GoodGym Cambridge.

Firstly, a new task, joining Coton Loves Pollinators at their pollinator patch allotment site.

We welcomed Izzy and John to their first GoodGym session 👋 (Spoiler alert: It was a great one!)

In another first for us, we met to cycle to the task. Surprising considering we live in the city of cycling! We enjoyed a beautiful route (including the new cycle street) out West of Cambridge through the countryside.

As we got into Coton, a fantastic personalised sign greeted us and led the way to the site. We met the brilliant Bridget who showed us down to the allotment to meet the rest of the group, who had already been busy getting the polytunnel frame up!

John and Izzy used their height advantage to help with the polytunnel cover. In just 20 minutes the polythene was on and held taught by Izzy's very satisfying wire work. Eventually, the tunnel will be covered in transparent photovoltaic panels, generating electricity from UV, whilst allowing visible light though to grow plants. Very clever ☀️

The rest of the group got started on planting in a new patch, extending the growing space. As we were breaking new ground, gadget expert Anna, let us use an earth auger to drill the holes for the plants. Naturally, we all wanted a go...the ease, the power! Sandra and Alice led the drilling and Ilse took the lead with planting. Going in were beans and sunflowers, a companion planting dream, with the sunflowers providing a growth surface for the bean vines and the beans fixing nitrogen in the soil for nutrition. Win,win. 🌻🫛

With yet another fun tool, Anna gave us a plant taping machine (definitely not a label maker) to attach the stems to the support pole for the early growth stages. Once we'd got the hang of it, it was another very satisfying job.

With 40 plants in the ground and the main polytunnel up, we paused to admire the beauty of the pollinator patch, and just when we thought the evening couldn't get any better, Bridget arrived with scones and tea! All homemade and warm from the oven, what a treat. We couldn't ask for better way to enjoy the end of a beautiful evening 💛

It was GG Barking and Dagenham's first visit to the White House (and thankfully, not a fake tan in sight).

First to arrive was Future Leader, Mason, shortly followed by Imran and Martynas, who were back for their second tasks, and lastly Lukas, all the way from Essex. What a team! 💪

Task partner, Michaela, showed us around the garden and to the pond area that needed clearing ready for a children's art workshop happening next week. The lilies were stunning, but the surrounding area was overrun by weeds and nettles. 🪾

Loving nothing better than a challenge, we immediately spread to make a star-t on the weeding ⭐

There were some precarious weeding positions on the edge of the pond, but thankfully / disappointingly we all left with dry feet 😅

We'd soon filled buckets of green waste and on taking them to the compost heap, we uncovered a wasps nest! Very much not on the agenda for the evening and they were not happy (a close zoom on the photo shows them all abuzz). We swiftly created a new compost heap at a safe distance. The garden was creepy crawling with life - as well as wasps, we came across a huge number of snails and firebugs. We'd never seen so many in one place 🐞

Within 45 minutes the area was transformed! Weed cleared around the pond and the growing beds, and under the fruit trees. As the session came to an end, we were left pond-ering when we'll be back again. 🤔

After taking a few pictures, which channelled 90s boy band, we made plans for next week's task. All agreed to meet for a jog around the park beforehand. It's written so now it must happen!

There was just enough time to exchange handstand press-up tips before heading our separate ways, buzzing for next week already! 🐝

This week, GoodGymers Catherine, Daiana and Alan headed to Fox Den Allotment for an evening of gardening, wildlife spotting and plenty of hard work! 💪🏼

This was my first visit to Fox Den, and the 10th good deed with GoodGym! I was pleased to see the nice work done there and I could also learn a lot about gardening, plants, medical effects of the plants and how rich and diverse the environment can be! 🌳

Our first task was creating a hedgehog highway. 🦔 We cleared an area before carefully layering some logs, smaller branches, twigs and finally leafy cuttings on top to create the perfect habitat for our prickly visitors. Alan’s strength and speedy log-moving certainly made light work of the heaviest part of the job! 🪏

Following this first move, we turned our attention to preparing a bed that will become part of the site’s growing forest garden. We learned how these gardens become increasingly self-sustaining over time, with established fruit trees and bushes already thriving. After turning the soil into a rich, nutritious bed ready for planting, it will soon be home to raspberries, artichokes, strawberries and plenty of other perennial plants. 🌱

As if that wasn’t enough, we also shifted some hefty rubber sheets into place to cover borders that had been overtaken by weeds. The sheets will help suppress the weeds over the coming months, leaving the beds ready for even more planting later in the year.

There was plenty of wildlife to enjoy too! We spotted a tiny cricket, rescued a thirsty bee with a well-timed drink of water, and a ladybird seemed particularly fond of Alan’s T-shirt – a very fitting companion for the evening. 🦗🐞

A brilliant evening of teamwork, learning and getting stuck in. We can’t wait to see how Fox Den continues to grow over the coming seasons! ✨