There was a big group this month for the walk over Horsenden Hill to the Feeding Ealing site. It started out dry and got more wet the closer that the group got to their destination, with umbrellas popping up and waterproofs being worn. Given the threatening grey skies, everyone was happy when Joseph said that they'd be working inside, in the polytunnel. On a day like today, Joseph had no desire to get soaked and he didn't want anyone else to get wet either.

Walking through the site, Joseph pointed out the changes since GoodGym's visit last month, with the Dudhi plants being well established in the muddy holes that were dug last month. Inside the polytunnel, there was a lot of new growth too, with tomatoes, peppers and more shooting up in the raised beds and some exotic beans climbing up the walls.

It was the tomatoes that Joseph needed help with today. As they grew, they needed to each have a bamboo cane that they were tied to for support. Kash, Angela and Maxime grabbed string and scissors, cutting it into lengths for everyone to get tying. Part way through, Joseph came to the team with a with a new task and each person could choose the one they found the most fun:

1. Tying the tomato plants to stakes
2. Dismantling old garden furniture that was inefficiently filling the skip

Maxime, Angela and Delphine found their happiness in placing stakes and binding the tomato plants to them. Steph, Kash, Kaja and Sevan on the other hand went for destruction. They grabbed the wicker chairs out of the skip and got kicking, stamping, twisting, sawing and pick-axing. Anything they could to turn the bad 3D seating into good 2D seating that would neatly stack back in the skip.

With both of Joseph's jobs completed, the rain got heavier and everyone took cover in the polytunnel. While they waited out the heaviest of the rain, Joseph told everyone about last year's harvest and the plans for this year. He encouraged everyone to come back at harvest time to pick some crops and make their stomachs happy. That's the most important thing in life, according to Joseph.

The session wrapped up early and team GoodGym headed home or onto their next tasks. As they left the site, the rain stopped and the sun beamed down... for a few minutes at least, until clouds returned overhead.

On a pleasant, dry Friday morning, GoodGym Ealing held a special session with an unusually early start at 7:45 am! Harvey, Steph, Sevan and Kash changed their morning routines to make their way to an industrial estate in Acton to visit a vibrant, green oasis hidden between warehouses and repair shops.

Originally, the session was arranged to help the six wildflower beds in Acton survive – and thrive! – during the recent May heatwave. Should it come as a surprise that climate change caused a sudden change in the weather? After the hailstorms, thunderstorms and a decent amount of rain mid-week, watering the beds in the morning was no longer a priority. There was still an impact to be made, though!

The beds, now displaying a range of amazing, colourful flowers and attracting pollinators, could, if left unattended, turn into far less biodiverse ecosystems. That's why we decided to remove the weeds known to be bullies in the plant world, ready to take over space from other species – among them a couple of sycamore saplings - and also tidy up the dead grasses.

Why did we decide to travel to Acton so early, though? We were visited by BBC Radio London reporter Nisha, who had already completed one volunteering session that day – at the Thames beach in Hammersmith. Nisha not only handled a live broadcast and produced material for other platforms but also found time to roll up her sleeves and join our task – one of her five volunteering sessions that day (even our Ealing heroes don't go to such extremes!). How impressive is that!

Four minutes of fame and three sacks of collected weeds later, the team dispersed to run or walk back home, then started the rest of their Fridays with so much already accomplished!

On a blowy Wednesday evening, we ran up to Popesfield Allotments to continue work on a task that Breda, Maxime and Gus had already made a great start on a few weeks back.

The allotments are managed by Cultivate London, an organisation that creates and supports community growing spaces across west London. Their work helps local people access green space, learn gardening skills, improve biodiversity and grow food locally, making sites like Popesfield a valuable resource for the community.

Our mission for the evening was to empty three large compost beds - or at least make some inroads into the huge piles! The compost itself looked rich and healthy, but unfortunately the tenants had been adding plants infected with blight and other contaminated material. That meant the compost couldn't be reused and needed clearing out completely.

The wheelbarrows were, at best, temperamental. At worst, they seemed actively opposed to the task. There were plenty of spills along the way, but we soon established an effective chain, shovelling, barrowing and emptying at a steady pace. Despite the logistical challenges, we managed to shift an impressive amount of material over the course of the session.

The allotments were buzzing with biodiversity with plenty of woodlice and worms, and as we revealed more of the compost's inhabitants a clever robin appeared and wasted no time taking advantage of the freshly turned soil. It boldly hopped around grabbing as many bugs as it possibly could. It seemed entirely unbothered by our presence and happily watched us while enjoying its feast.

With the compost beds looking much less full, we headed off into the evening. Next week we're back at Chiswick House See you then!

The first Tuesday of June marked an abrupt and definite end to the May heatwave, with hailstorms and thunderstorms raging over Ealing in the afternoon. Six GoodGymers who weren't scared off by the weather, caught in the worst of the rain, or stopped by the tube strikes were lucky enough to miss the downpour and even catch some shy rays of sunshine. Jumping over puddles, Freya, Steph, Sevan and Kash ran through Ealing Common to Popesfield Allotments to meet cyclist James and walker Anna.

The goal of the task, commissioned by the horticultural charity Cultivate London, was to clear a vegetable patch to serve as a communal starter plot for people on the allotment waiting list. The idea was to give them a chance to learn, practise, and enjoy growing their own fruit and veg while they wait for a plot of their own. As you may know, waiting for an allotment space in London can take years, so the GoodGym team was ready to take on the weeds that had spread across the patch and give those keen future gardeners the best possible start in food growing.

If you think the session was a typical power-weeding-raze-everything-to-the-ground-total-destruction affair, then think again! The veg patch was already planted with a variety of legitimate plants, so uncovering all the plot's secrets hidden beneath the overgrowth proved to be quite an educational experience. Although the GoodGymers were physically on their own at the allotment, the task owner from Cultivate was on the other side of Kash's phone, providing live support. The team trusted them more than Google Lens and happily sent over pictures of questionable plants for identification.

Among the plants the group recognised on their own, or with task owner's help, were poppies, tarragon, sage, artichokes, broccoli and other brassica plants, African kale, and curry plant (not to be confused with the curry tree, which actually produces curry leaves), to name just a few. The remaining greenery, classified as weeds, filled nearly two half-tonne bags, later hauled to the green waste disposal area. In less than an hour, the two-sided plot was unrecognisable and looked like a veg patch once again – if you can identify your veggies, of course!

Next Tuesday, we are off to Elthorne Park to keep burdock under control before it spreads too far, prevents other plants from thriving, and produces the burrs that get stuck in your dog's fur! Let's tackle this spiky troublemaker before it starts producing its prickly hitchhikers. Sign up now!