Romance is in the air. February is the month of romance with Valentin's day. Romance is not dead and Goodgymers have not fallen out with litter and have proved once again this month by going out with their hearts and collected litter like cans, bottles, crisp and sweet wrappers, cigarette butt's, various plastic items, lost trainers, umbrellas and larger ones like sofas etc which some of them had to left behind and reported to the local services. There were some flirty pickup lines noted. All the lovely litter will find its way to its home like a recycling bin where it belongs and not in the streets or in the parks.

When nine GoodGymers stood on muddy crossroads in the middle of Grove Farm woodland, Mike, the leader of the regular volunteer group, asked an existential question.

Who wants to be a beaver today?

Ash, Melissa, Thaiza and Kash decided they would identify as beavers and use their natural talents to help Mike strengthen the dams, slowing the flow of the Grove Farm stream.

Find me some wood!

Big and small, half-rotten or three-quarters-rotten logs and branches were stacked on top or wedged against the existing two wooden dams to prevent the construction from falling apart. The aim was to extend the dams' lifespan and prevent water from leaking onto the paths. Pretty good for faux beavers, right? How effective the intervention was, time will tell, but it was lots of fun - particularly for those prepared and wearing wellies like Thaiza!

Meanwhile, Devi, Richard, Harvey, Steph and Sevan were up at the wood anemone battlefield, fending off a bramble attack. The thorny plants never knew when to stop, so the blackberries kept growing ahead of the anemones blooming season next month. The good news was that, within the last three years of helping Friends of Grove Farm, we weakened the brambles enough that they haven't grown back in full power since. That means less work for the new GoodGymers, but, hopefully, more wood anemones for everyone to see at next month's conservation day!