Tonight, the team got stuck into a double-deep-clean at Merton’s Community Fridge and Morden Baptist Church. A nice change from the recent sessions involving pulling weeds, we split into teams to tackle the jobs:

• The Storage Squad: clearing and cleaning the main storage area turned into a game of two halves. Phase 1: Clear out the cramped space, scrub the floor, and disinfect the fridge, freezer, and shelves. Phase 2: Figure out how to fit it all back in!

• The Kitchen Kings: While the storage squad scrubbed, a smaller team worked their magic in the kitchen, leaving the space absolutely pristine and ready for action.

• The Pet Food Pros: Meanwhile, others made a paws-itive impact by repackaging giant sacks of pet food into smaller, manageable bags.

• The Brave Bin Brigade: Outside, a courageous duo tackled what can only be described as the ultimate boss battle: the food waste bin. Enough said about that!

We mucked up (quite literally!) as fitting everything back into storage took us right into extra time, but we got there in the end. Huge shoutout to everyone, who stuck around for the final stretch!

Welcome to our newest team members, Joanna and Karen - great to have you join us and we hope to see you again soon.

A reminder that next week we will be helping the Friends of Raynes Park station, followed by our monthly social, so sign up here and join us if you can.

What started as a simple mission to move a stack of logs at a community allotment quickly escalated into one of those productive missions where finishing the original task just opens the door to three more. Our brief was to clear a log pile so that Lisa could get to a fence, eventually to remove it and install a gate. With four GoodGymmers on the case, we made such short work of the logs that the various creepy-crawlies suddenly finding themselves exposed to daylight barely had time to lodge a complaint! With the logjam thoroughly broken, we moved on to taking down the fence itself, clearing a patch of weeds, and generally making ourselves useful around the plot.

Along the way, Lisa’s thorough plant knowledge kept us entertained and educated. Highlights included discovering that magnolia flowers are edible and that bindweed - usually the villain of the allotment world - can be woven into baskets. As if that wasn't enough, Lisa made each volunteer a personalised rustic bouquet from a wonderfully varied selection of plants growing on the site, including lavender, yarrow and rosemary. The final reward came in the form of a bumper blackberry harvest, with enough gorgeously ripe fruit to spark serious conversations about jam-making as well as bramble crumble. We left with bouquets in hand, tubs full of blackberries, and the unmistakable scent of pure summer in our nostrils. A berry successful task indeed!

💥 FUTURE LEADER SOUTHERN COHORT LAUNCHES

To launch the Southern cohort of the Future Leader programme we all came together to help out St Pancras gardens. We did a quick garden tidy up to ensure the area is kept clean for people to enjoy this wonderful green space in the heart of London.

Denzel led a group of runners with Jack leading the group of walkers, with photographer Dave capturing some brilliant shots along the way.

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Future Leaders are young people that will be building leadership skills and care about their community, fitness and social impact. We had people travel in today from York, Plymouth and Cambridge - so amazing to see you all!

🎵 St Pancras Gardens are attached to St Pancras Old Church and have a long history. In 1968, The Beatles were photographed here for a famous series of pictures designed to promote the single "Hey Jude" and the White Album. More recently artists such as Sam Smith have performed concerts there.

🌿 It's a busy place right in the centre of London which attracts a lot of footfall, hence the constant need to keep litter at bay and the paths clear.

🛏 We have all collaborated and made new connections whilst efficiently getting the task done - we also discovered the war of the fallen mattress.

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🙌 Thank you Tyler!
We also had a very special guest speaker - I was joined by the brilliant Tyler Williams-Green for a Q&A session.

Tyler founded The Outrunners Charity in 2015 and shared how he transformed a running club into a charity that last year empowered 1,150+ young people through all their programmes, breaking down deep systemic barriers through fitness, career mentoring and more.

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Huge well done on your 1st good deed Imantha, Ana, Nazifa, Malachi, Tatianna, Luna, Jemima, Javic, Mason, Lubna, Lesley, Rasheed and Jihane.

Such great work everyone 🙌🙌🙌 so excited to see what you all make happen!

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Huge thank you to Havas for allowing us to use their amazing office space for our cohort workshop.