The threat of rain couldn't dampen our spirits at the Small Quarter community garden in Mitcham today. What started as a grey Saturday quickly brightened up, turning our mulching mission into a surprisingly warm workout.

As we racked up the mulch deliveries we found ourselves peeling off layers of clothing after each trip. It was the perfect way to support a beautiful local space while getting a full-body workout - who needs a gym when there are piles of woodchips to move?

We finished the session with a well-covered garden, a solid Saturday sweat, and the satisfaction of a job well done.

We joined the volunteer crew at Morden Parkrun this morning to take on the most prestigious roles in the pack as Park Walker and Tail Walker.

It’s a noble task - ensuring that no matter how much the hills (or the sludge) try to slow people down, nobody finishes last alone. There’s a certain artistry to navigating a 5k course when it’s 50% mud; it’s also a little bit slow and slippery requiring tactical balancing.

Still, we got the steps in, cheered on the runners, and successfully avoided any major face-plants. The park is beautiful in the muddy sunshine, the volunteers are legends, and we gained another credit for our efforts and had a nice walk and opportunity to get to know each other a little better 😀.

We joined Friends of Morden Park this morning in the beautiful sunshine to boost their volunteer numbers for a serious raking and clearing session. We tackled a mountain of bramble roots, and while the space is already looking amazing, it’s clear this project is going to need some extra bodies in the coming weeks to keep the momentum going. Want to help - the team are there every Wednesday form 10.30am and we hope to get another session in soon.

The morning momentum continued as we helped set up for the Open Table. With the main tasks finished ahead of schedule, Jon took the opportunity to tackle window cleaning duty. The beautiful sunshine outside made the job much easier, and the hall was left gleaming and ready for guests.

We made light work of packing up the night shelter this morning, proving that two hands are definitely better than one and with Henry the vacuum helping, the a mountain of bedding and chairs to shiftwas sorted with time to spare before cracking onto the next job.