I had to help Mr C get some bags of rubbish out of his flat and into the refuse bins of his block. He cannot currently get down the stairs because of problems with his foot. I ran there in glorious sunshine. When I arrived I found around 12 bin liners with rubbish, but they were mercifully light. Mr C was very polite and we had a nice chat. All the bags were cleared in a few minutes. And I ran back home in the sun again!

1,800 new trees! 🌳🌿

Next to the North Circular, one of London's busiest roads, sits Mutton Brook. This previously under-utilised green space has now expanded from our initial Tiny Forest to four thanks to the brilliant work of 8 GoodGymers, Earthwatch, Barnet Council, school children and members from the local community.

Great work and nice one for being apart of it Scarlett, Paul, George, Daniel, Kubilay and special mention to Anastasiia and David on your first good deeds with GoodGym!

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What is a Tiny Forest and how does it help? 🌳
The 3 new Tiny Forests each hold 600 densely planted trees, using the Miyawaki method developed in Japan. Having an additional 1,800 new trees will not only help to improve local biodiversity and create more green spaces for people to connect with nature, they’ll also be used for scientific studies by Earthwatch, universities, schools, and citizen scientists.

The planting will specifically help scientists understand how trees in urban areas can grow best - the 3 plots are trialling different planting methods, using a mix of experimental and traditional techniques. We're proud to be part of such an innovative project that’s putting Barnet on the map for green solutions.

Record holders 🥇
Citizen science is a key feature of Earthwatch’s environmental research projects, providing evidence and monitoring data that are crucial to helping scientists better understand and improve the management of the natural environment.

We were also very proud to find out that our first Tiny Forest in Mutton Brook holds the record for the most data submitted - well done to all of our citizen scientists for all their data collections over the years.

Inspiring speeches 🎤
After a lovely day planting in the sunshine we then headed to Stephens House & Gardens, a beautiful space that we regularly support, for Earthwatch's evening reception. After many inspiring speeches, Paul and Daniel closed, speaking brilliantly about GoodGym and their experiences in Mutton Brook - emphasising how well the Tiny Forest connects the community and the importance of helping people benefit from connecting with nature and green spaces.

We look forward to supporting the growth of the new Tiny Forests and thank Earthwatch for being such brilliant and inspiring partners to collaborate with.

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To read BBC's feature on the Barnet Tiny Forest planting please click here.

To find out more information about Earthwatch's Tiny Forest project please click here.