1,800 new trees! 🌳🌿

Next to the North Circular, one of London's busiest roads, sits Mutton Brook. This previously under-utilised green space has now expanded from our initial Tiny Forest to four thanks to the brilliant work of 8 GoodGymers, Earthwatch, Barnet Council, school children and members from the local community.

Great work and nice one for being apart of it Scarlett, Paul, George, Daniel, Kubilay and special mention to Anastasiia and David on your first good deeds with GoodGym!

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What is a Tiny Forest and how does it help? 🌳
The 3 new Tiny Forests each hold 600 densely planted trees, using the Miyawaki method developed in Japan. Having an additional 1,800 new trees will not only help to improve local biodiversity and create more green spaces for people to connect with nature, they’ll also be used for scientific studies by Earthwatch, universities, schools, and citizen scientists.

The planting will specifically help scientists understand how trees in urban areas can grow best - the 3 plots are trialling different planting methods, using a mix of experimental and traditional techniques. We're proud to be part of such an innovative project that’s putting Barnet on the map for green solutions.

Record holders 🥇
Citizen science is a key feature of Earthwatch’s environmental research projects, providing evidence and monitoring data that are crucial to helping scientists better understand and improve the management of the natural environment.

We were also very proud to find out that our first Tiny Forest in Mutton Brook holds the record for the most data submitted - well done to all of our citizen scientists for all their data collections over the years.

Inspiring speeches 🎤
After a lovely day planting in the sunshine we then headed to Stephens House & Gardens, a beautiful space that we regularly support, for Earthwatch's evening reception. After many inspiring speeches, Paul and Daniel closed, speaking brilliantly about GoodGym and their experiences in Mutton Brook - emphasising how well the Tiny Forest connects the community and the importance of helping people benefit from connecting with nature and green spaces.

We look forward to supporting the growth of the new Tiny Forests and thank Earthwatch for being such brilliant and inspiring partners to collaborate with.

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To read BBC's feature on the Barnet Tiny Forest planting please click here.

To find out more information about Earthwatch's Tiny Forest project please click here.

With clear skies above and sturdy legs below, four Goodgymmers stormed into the darkening evening from the Phoenix Cinema. We ran a solid, mostly car-free 3km to the tinyforest, with Kubilay and Theodore. Subham kept the pace up while night scarfed up the tender eye of pitiful day. Starlight hardly pierced the twilight engulfing Lyttleton fields, so we turned on head torches.

On Falloden Way we met Gabonnet and Scarlett, who joined us in the meadow. Dark tracks from the diggers led to the newly turned earthy, where we'll be planting three new tinyforests later this month. Then, in the far corner of the forgotten fields we found the existing tinyforest.

We assembled our three birdfeeders, two with fat balls and one with seeds, entered the forest and hung the feeders on branches. Though stones have been known to move and trees to speak, we heard nary a nightingale nor late blackbird singing for supper, but we'll see what they have taken when we come back next week.

We talked about the impact of the tinyforest, the various citizen science data we could record (in daylight) and the new tinymeadow that should start blooming soon. Then, wishing a fair journey home to Scarlett, Subham and Gabrielle, three of us mustered our mettle for the 3km trek back to the Phoenix.

Ah, February. The month of love, pancakes, and, if you’re a GoodGymmer, the relentless pursuit of litter in all its sneaky, wind-blown, occasionally baffling forms.

First of all, a huge thank you to all the GoodGymmers who took part in the great rubbish run of February! Armed with grabbers, gloves, and an almost worrying enthusiasm for picking up other people’s discarded nonsense, we tackled the streets, beaches, and green spaces in our localities.

For my part, I took on the sprawling expanse of Chesil Beach on a stunningly sunny day. The kind of day that makes you forget winter is still clinging on and convinces you that shorts might be a reasonable life choice. (They weren’t.)

Now, I’ve done my fair share of litter picking, but this time, the sea had outdone itself. Instead of the usual crisp packets and stray bottles, it had thoughtfully washed up a perfectly straight line of rubbish across the middle of the beach. It was like nature’s very own lost-and-found department.

Among the treasure trove: • An unopened Coke can (A free drink? A scientific experiment? A trap? The mind boggles.) • A builder’s helmet (Presumably from a very confident or very unfortunate seafaring construction worker.) • A mystery plastic cup with foreign writing (Possibly the remains of a transatlantic snack run? We may never know.)

If rubbish could talk, these items would have some stories to tell. And honestly, I’d love to hear them.

A massive shoutout to Kubilay & his daughter Asya, who took to the streets with the kind of enthusiasm that gives you faith in the next generation. Nothing says quality bonding time like removing litter from the pavement. Kubilay, you’re raising a legend.

And a big thank you to Katie, who bravely tackled her local village, uncovering hidden trash troves and—most intriguingly—a set of fly-tipped cushions. Because nothing screams “I don’t need these anymore” quite like launching your old soft furnishings into a hedge.

and Mel who went on a solo plog in her local area and said 'Happy to get a bag full of litter!' there you are bagging happiness you can’t get much better than that!

Onwards to March!

We did good work this month, but the rubbish never sleeps. So if you fancy fresh air, unexpected discoveries, and the deeply satisfying smugness of knowing you’ve done your bit, sign up for the March litter pick.

Thanks again, everyone—see you out there, grabbers in hand!

The days are getting longer and we'll soon be running sunsets, but the skies were clear for tonight's run to Shepherds Hill Garden and the stars out. Two of us set off from the Phoenix - Kubilay and George - and we picked up Lucinda along our steady 2.5km run.

We were met by Pat and Flora, two of the amazing custodians of the gardens, who handed out rakes, brooms, bags and a dustpan. We cleared leaves along the top path, nearby beds and benches to make the space safer and more attractive to visitors. Then we made our way down the hill to rake a grass bed that has been suffering from lack of light and too much leaf mulch.

With the leaves of our labour bagged and disposed off around the new dead hedges further down the slope, we then decamped to top, where Pat broke out the thermos and biscuits for a round of hot chocolate. We watched the stars and mused over whether that was Venus we could see up above (we're in the midst of a planetary phenomenon!) , before returning the tools to Pat's place.

Then the three of us walked Flora a short way home, before picking up our pace and trekking back home ourselves, safe in the knowledge we'd leafed no path unswept.