👕 7 lovely GoodGymmers came to help at the clothes swap this month. Some of us came straight from parkrun, for our second volunteering stint of the day. Some came out of purely altruistic ambitions, answering the pleas that the clothes swap were short of their volunteers today. (Some may have had an additional alterior motive for some this month, in looking for an outfit suitable for a wedding (parkrun), lurking around the sparkly rail.) Success was had in both senses - we did lots of helping and outfits were found.

🍰 Vicky had both her work and GoodGym hats on today, selling some (delicious) cake to raise money for York Carers Trust.

⏰ The hour passed quickly and it was soon time to head off, safe in the knowledge that we've hopefully saved some clothes from landfill.

👏 Thank you everyone!

Tonight’s mission took us to Fulford Ings, where two wheels and two feet united for another round in the fight against Himalayan balsam.

Our group split into two, with Ed leading the runners to the task while Vicky guided the cycling crew. After arriving at the beautiful riverside location, it was straight down to business. Armed with gloves and plenty of enthusiasm, we spread out across the Ings, pulling up as much balsam as we could before it had the chance to spread its seeds.

The distinctive pink flowers may look pretty, but this invasive plant crowds out native species, so every handful removed makes a real difference to the local habitat. Before long, piles of uprooted balsam were growing, and areas that had been thick with the plant were looking much clearer.

As always, the task flew by thanks to great teamwork, plenty of chats, and the satisfaction of seeing immediate results. With another productive evening completed, we headed home knowing we’d helped protect this special green space for wildlife and future visitors, with a few folk putting the ribbons around tansy friendly plants en route so the farmer wouldn't chop them down.

A big well done to everyone who ran, cycled, pulled, and piled. Same time next balsam season? 🌱🙌

A small but mighty crew headed down to the riverside this evening to tackle a familiar invasive foe: Himalayan balsam.

After a run or cycle to the task location, we split up along the riverbank and got stuck into pulling up the plants before they have a chance to spread their seeds. The recent weather had left the ground soft, making it satisfying work as roots and all came free with a gentle tug.

Working our way along the path, we soon created impressive piles of balsam and opened up space for native plants to thrive.

With plenty of plants removed and the area looking noticeably clearer, we gathered for a group photo before heading to the memorial gardens for fitness, feeling pleased with another practical contribution to keeping our local green spaces in great shape.

Tonight we did some exercises around the circle then froze into different positions. It was then back to base for a stretch out.

We also congratulated all the impressive runners who completed races and relays over the weekend, cheered Mitch for doing his 600th deed and Neil his 100th, and welcomed Yashodh and Nada to their first group run.

Great effort from everyone involved!

The Land is on the edge of Haxby with a wonderful view of the Howardian Hills. Well done for Jake for running all the way to the task, some miles out of York, straight after work! We soon got stuck into shovelling the grit into barrows and carting it down a grassy track to make a stone track. It was a good decision to start laying the path a bit closer than the end of the road, a 5 minutes wobbly walk away! The sun soon came out and we focused on clearing the pile of grit that was blocking the mower's garage. It was a decent work out for all, so we celebrated our true Northern grit with cookies, iced buns, brownies and doughnuts. Well, it is Saturday! We will be back to do more, I'm sure!