I was happy to enjoy the last of the hot weather by jogging over to Tooting to help Mrs E by doing some pruning and weeding in her garden. There was a specific area around the shed to be tackled and I managed to fill 5 bags with garden waste. Mrs E had thoughtfully kept some water in the freezer for me to cool down with before I made my way home.

Area Activator Simon caught up with 4 other Goodgym runners at the Arsenal Community Hub last night, prepped and prepared for a group run over to The ARC Centre and Canalside Gardens near De Beauvoir and Packington Estate. After a short warm up, we ran together past Highbury and Islington station, Compton Terrace Gardens, Canonbury Square (all previous Goodgym Islington tasks!) and down to St Paul's Street.

Frannie, the main coordinator for Octopus Community Network had already set up some tasks for Kim and Victoria, who had arrived earlier. Between us, our project was to:

• Soak all of the tree trunks around Canalside Gardens using a hosepipe, to ensure that moisture permeates through to the roots.
• Wheelbarrow as many bags of compost and mulch as possible from the glorious Riverside Gardens (next to Regent's Canal) up to Canalside Gardens.
• Spread the mulch around the plant beds and in proximity to the tree trunks to enrich the soil where necessary. Hoes and spades to be used!

Between the 8 Goodgym volunteers, we successfully prepped all of the trees ready for the possible heatwave next week! It was incredible to see such a transformation over the course of 45 minutes. Luke wheeled up the hosepipe at the end of the evening, and the rest of our team assisted with guiding the hose back the reel without any kinks or twists.

Another successful group run, concluded with a pleasant trip back to Emirates Stadium via Highbury Fields on foot. Great job everyone!

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Goodgym Islington News

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Extra Goodgym Islington Wednesday Task! The ARC Centre and Canalside Gardens

Wednesday 16th August, 6pm - 8pm, The ARC Centre.

Come and help Frannie from Octopus Community Network with some great green maintenance and tree care.

https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/wednesday-evening-extra-canalside-gardens-near-the-arc-centre

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Caledonian Park Junior parkrun - Summer Time Marshal Help!

The team at Caledonian Road Junior parkrun (a free weekly timed 2km run designed for youngsters and families to run safely and independently - ages 4-14) are in need of more marshals and volunteers to allow the event to happen. Many of the core helpers are away for Summer, so any assistance would be hugely appreciated. It's the best way to start a Sunday!

Sunday 13th August, 8.45am:

https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/volunteer-at-caledonian-junior-parkrun-summer-holiday-help-2

Sunday 20th August, 8.45am:

https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/volunteer-at-caledonian-junior-parkrun-summer-holiday-help-3

Sunday 27th August, 8.45am:

https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/volunteer-at-caledonian-junior-parkrun-summer-holiday-help-4

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Weekday Community Mission- Housing21 Aftercare and Retirement Home Gardening, Mildmay

Wednesday 16th August, 11am-2pm (flexible with times)

We had a referral through Goodgym Islington from the team at Mildmays and Housing21 regarding an ambitious gardening project for their residents. The community gardening spaces are in need of some attention for anyone who would be up for some digging, lifting and shifting! Super satisfying task!

https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/weekday-garden-fix-up-at-mildmays-housing21

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Goodgym x Jog On Recycling Clothes Swap and Group Run @ The Running Works

Wednesday 23rd August, 6pm, The Running Works, Aldgate

Come join us for a social group run with Goodgym and The Running Works, in collaboration with Jog On and Athletic Brewing Company! We will be hosting a clothes swap and donation drive for running and athletics kit as well. A great night to be had! https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/goodgym-x-jog-on-recycling-clothes-swap-and-group-run-the-running-works

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Penn Road Gardens Open Volunteer Morning

Sunday 27th August, 10am - midday, Penn Road Gardens, Islington

Every last Sunday of the month, the residents of Penn Road invite keen volunteers to help with maintaining this lovely community spot just off Holloway Road.

Local volunteers will be on hand to direct anyone who arrives to offer their help between 10am- midday. Come on down to enjoy a lovely morning community task!

https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/penn-road-gardens-open-morning-august-957f8dd9-aa82-4c3d-bae8-7aeb15bc3798

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September Social- Medal Monday at The Victoria Tavern, Holloway Road

Monday 4th September, 8.45pm, The Victoria Tavern, Holloway Road

As Summer is closing in, we thought we would take the opportunity to celebrate the running or exercise achievements we have completed during this time, especially with The Big Half over the weekend.

Come and join us for £7 pizza and refreshments after our group run to The Rose Bowl Youth Club, and bring the running medals you are most proud of!

https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/september-social-medal-monday-at-victoria-tavern

After work on Friday evening I jogged from my office at the King's Cross end of York Way to Holloway Road, where I picked up some chicken pasta and some smoothies for Mr T. It was interesting to see the progress on all the new housing developments along the way. When I went to drop the shpoping off, Mr. T's buzzer wasn't working, but he was able to throw the key from the window. I need to work on my catching skills for future tasks!

GoodGym Wandsworth's goal is to be able to support our community in the best and most productive way possible, so when we had a last minute call from one of regular task owners asking for some urgent help, we were only too happy to switch up our planned task to lend a hand.

Hadas who runs Waste Not Want Not, a local charity which is dedicated to ensuring that perfectly edible and nutritious food does not become waste and instead is channelled for the benefit of our local community, is managing a big refurb of the site. The decorator is ready to come and give the place a facelift, but there were two massive spaces which needed clearing out before that can happen. That's where we come in!

After a short run down to the charity, we assessed the job in question. How to move two rooms full of equipment, food and stock into one room with limited space? Human chain, of course. Wasting no time, we got cracking shifting everything through the building and working out the best way to store it. Meanwhile, another group tackled the conundrum that is the WNWN shelves. After one false start where it turns out they were assembled upside down, they were soon successful.

After 40 minutes the place was emptied and ready for its new look. We'll be back soon to see how it's all changed!

Next we headed over to Banana Park for our fitness session, which involved one pack of cards, two teams and A LOT of power squats. There could only be one winner however, and with a final score of 11 versus 14 the victors were clear.

Next week we have a very exciting session as it is our 7th birthday. Please join us if you can for an evening of fun, mini tasks, orienteering, challenges and of course a post run social. It would be brilliant to celebrate GG Wandsworth past, present and future with you!