What a difference 60 minutes can make with 12 GoodGymmers joining forces with dedicated local volunteers at Ridgway Community Garden!

With so many hands on deck, everyone got thoroughly stuck in from the moment we arrived, turning the space around in record time. We covered off a bunch of jobs:

• Alkanet & Weed Attack: Cleared out thick patches of stubborn alkanet and invasive weeds that had taken over the pocket park bed.

• The Wood Chip & Cardboard Combo: Shifted old wood chips, laid down cardboard barriers to suppress future growth, and topped everything up with fresh wood chips and nutrient-rich soil around the plants.

• Hydration Heroics: Gave all the newly mulched beds and plants a deep, well-deserved watering (no hosepipe allowed!) to settle them in.

It is always incredible to see the transformation possible when a group rolls up their sleeves and gets stuck in together. In just one hour, the garden was left looking tidy, revitalised, and ready to thrive for the rest of the summer.

A massive well done to everyone for bringing the energy and muscle to make light work of a big job - especially during such a warm evening!

To celebrate Love Parks Week over the weekend, GoodGymmers across Merton and Kingston headed out to give our cherished local green spaces some well-deserved TLC!

Equipped with litter pickers and bin bags, we scoured local parks to ensure our community spaces remain safe, clean, and welcoming for everyone (and the local wildlife!).

With local residents opting out of council glyphosate spraying, keeping the pavement edges and tree pits tidy purely by hand is a big task. The GoodGym Merton team is often called upon to join a SWAT team and armed with gloves, bags and hoes we were happy to help!

Three GoodGymmers headed to Merton and Lambeth Citizens Advice in Mitcham for our first task supporting the team there, with a mission to make the front of the building more welcoming for visitors. Whilst there were a few weeds to evict along the way, the main challenge quickly became clear: trees and bushes had gradually encroached over the public pavement outside, substantially narrowing the route to a busy Mitcham bus stop. Armed with loppers and determination, we set about reclaiming the footpath one branch at a time.

After a considerable amount of lopping, chopping and branch-dragging, the difference was striking. Several feet of pavement width were reclaimed for pedestrians, making the route to the bus stop much easier to navigate and giving the frontage a far tidier look. The task may have been modest in size, but the impact was obvious, and this was just the beginning: we'll be back in a few weeks with a full GoodGym crew to take on the much larger challenge lurking in the back garden. A successful pilot prune!