The first Tuesday of June marked an abrupt and definite end to the May heatwave, with hailstorms and thunderstorms raging over Ealing in the afternoon. Six GoodGymers who weren't scared off by the weather, caught in the worst of the rain, or stopped by the tube strikes were lucky enough to miss the downpour and even catch some shy rays of sunshine. Jumping over puddles, Freya, Steph, Sevan and Kash ran through Ealing Common to Popesfield Allotments to meet cyclist James and walker Anna.

The goal of the task, commissioned by the horticultural charity Cultivate London, was to clear a vegetable patch to serve as a communal starter plot for people on the allotment waiting list. The idea was to give them a chance to learn, practise, and enjoy growing their own fruit and veg while they wait for a plot of their own. As you may know, waiting for an allotment space in London can take years, so the GoodGym team was ready to take on the weeds that had spread across the patch and give those keen future gardeners the best possible start in food growing.

If you think the session was a typical power-weeding-raze-everything-to-the-ground-total-destruction affair, then think again! The veg patch was already planted with a variety of legitimate plants, so uncovering all the plot's secrets hidden beneath the overgrowth proved to be quite an educational experience. Although the GoodGymers were physically on their own at the allotment, the task owner from Cultivate was on the other side of Kash's phone, providing live support. The team trusted them more than Google Lens and happily sent over pictures of questionable plants for identification.

Among the plants the group recognised on their own, or with task owner's help, were poppies, tarragon, sage, artichokes, broccoli and other brassica plants, African kale, and curry plant (not to be confused with the curry tree, which actually produces curry leaves), to name just a few. The remaining greenery, classified as weeds, filled nearly two half-tonne bags, later hauled to the green waste disposal area. In less than an hour, the two-sided plot was unrecognisable and looked like a veg patch once again – if you can identify your veggies, of course!

Next Tuesday, we are off to Elthorne Park to keep burdock under control before it spreads too far, prevents other plants from thriving, and produces the burrs that get stuck in your dog's fur! Let's tackle this spiky troublemaker before it starts producing its prickly hitchhikers. Sign up now!

GoodGym Ealing's first group run to the Polygon, linked to St Mary's church, took each of the runners back to their childhood. Waiting outside, they wondered what they'd find inside and thought about memories from when they were little.

"[The toys] will probably be sticky" - Freya

They were welcomed by task owner Wei Hei, who introduced them to the jobs for this evening. There were tiny chairs to clean, there were small kitchen toys to be washed and there were big puzzles to be solved. Each big kid chose the task that they would enjoy the most.

Harvey and Freya took the tiny chairs outside into the sun to scrub them down and let them dry. They were careful to not use too little, nor too much detergent as they were warned. Too much would lead to an explosion of bubbles that couldn't be rinsed away, but the pair got it just right.

Conor and Jo went into the adult sized kitchen to wash the play kitchen equipment, cleaning plates, toasters and slices of pizza. By the time they were done, the plastic food was ready to be chewed on again by the children.

The final group was bigger. Maria and Chris, who made achieving his 💯th good deed look like child's play, were preparing play bags to give out during church services. They were filled with fun toys that were also quiet toys, which would keep children entertained while the adults were busy. Each bag contained a toy, a puzzle, a book and a jigsaw. Next to them, Kash and Sevan were sorting through a jumble of toys that had already been played with, getting them ready for Maria and Chris to pack, ready for another child to enjoy.

The team blitzed through all of the tasks, having a lot of fun along the way. They left Wei Hei very grateful for what they'd achieved.

"You've done more that I could have imagined."
"Thank you!" - Wei Hei

As they did such a great job, a return visit may be on the cards when the plastic pizza slices feel a bit sticky again. 🍕

Walpole Park has been a frequent GoodGymming spot throughout December and January due to its seemingly endless supply of matter that needs shifting from place A to place B! The February session was no different, with an objective to mulch the newly planted tree whips along the park’s easternmost path.

Five Ealing GoodGymers, who met at the Tuesday group run, enjoyed the first evening of the year, which felt as if spring was just around the corner. No freezing fingers, no wind, no rain - well, if you don’t count the puddles remaining after the filming in Walpole Park earlier in the day. The film shoot involved pipes hung from the trees along the main alley to make fake rain, quite ironically, on the second rainless day of 2026 in London.

Chris, Freya, Sevan, Steph and Kash used their superhuman senses (and head torches) to locate the whips planted around an imposing plane tree in the dark. The stems were thinner than a little finger and easy to miss. The team had to be extra careful when wheelbarrowing mulch from a nearby woodchip pile to the end of the path, and not stomp on the whips. Survival of the fittest is not GoodGym’s motto after all. Buckets came in handy when carrying woodchip to the furthest areas to mulch.

The park was quiet and peaceful, apart from lively chats about travels and shrieks of foxes having fun in the bushes. The team covered the section of planted whips leading to the plane tree and around it. A few other nearby planted areas remained woodchip-free, but we’re keen to give it another try next week!

Mindset is everything, they say. And we can say that too. Why else would a group of five shun their cosy, dry homes and embark on a quest of shovelling wet woodchip with wet shovels into wet wheelbarrows to spread on a wet path during a wet night? A few of us had a tough day at work, others were fed up with sitting indoors for the whole day. A dose of healthy movement in the rain with our community in mind was exactly what we needed!

A pile of woodchip dropped near the Lammas Orchard (a.k.a. The Garden of Eden, according to our task owner, Trevor) was lying out there idly for weeks, not serving as a moisture absorber on the orchard's paths nor as mulch for the fruit trees. We secured tools for ourselves and came over to challenge the status quo. Half an hour of vigorous shovelling and some wheelbarrow runs after, we had a smooth, woodchipped path leading from the gate into the forest school area. We also ran out of coarse woodchip and switched tactics. Another fifteen minutes or so later, we used the unveiled compressed, decomposing woodchip as mulch, spreading it around most of the fruit trees in the garden.

Satisfied with the results, we closed our eyes for a while and indulged ourselves with a mental trip to a tropical beach. No holiday budget required, no CO2 emissions, but the feeling was there. Magical. Mindset is everything.

A mild January sunday afternoon saw a large group of volunteers meet by the Pear Tree Park cafe for some tree planting. The trees were, you guessed it, different varieties of pear trees.

A lot of work had already been done in an earlier session, but that still left digging, pile driving fence posts into the ground, spreading compost and mulch and finally applying a protective cover. There were a couple of unfortunate mishaps, including someone who planted 6 trees in one hole and a bucket that didnt survive the attentions of an excited dog. But overall it was a very successful and satisfying bit of community action - one that will hopefully bear plenty of fruit for years to come.