Who knows what an aquifer is? No, neither did Ealing GoodGymers until today's tree planting session in Cleveland Park with Letting Grow. Letting Grow's plan was to put 1,500 trees into the ground in the park as part of today's community day.

Maria arrived early to discover the muddy delights that awaited and started planting the bundle of whips she was handed. Kash, Theo, Lena and Sevan arrived later and were greeted by:

"Welcome to mudland!" - Maria

Task owner Ross had been in the park since the morning and offered the GoodGymers his own advice due to the muddiness of the ground:

"Use our gloves" - Ross
"Have you got an industrial washing machine to clean them?" - Sevan
"No. I have a very angry wife"
"She'll say, I can't believe you've muddied up the washing machine again!" - Ross

Some took Ross up on his offer, making his wife more angry. Those that didn't had their own extra washing to do after the task. The "fun" part of planting in this aquifer was that a puddle would materialise a few seconds after any hole was dug for a tree. This needed special trees - GoodGymers planted sweet chestnut and hornbeam - that could take the damp soil and a special planting technique:

1. Dig a hole
2. Put the top grass layer back in the hole upside down
3. Place the whip in
4. Fill the hole with the rest of the removed soil
5. Heel in the whip
6. Add some mulch

The second step was unusual and Ross said that it would help to keep the ground water away from the roots. The unsaid step 7 was to try and get as much mud off yourself as possible before planting the next tree. Some of the team had more success than others in staying clean and you can play "spot who had the most fun" with the group photo.

Everyone did an amazing job in challenging conditions, with Maria taking the award for champion tree planter 🏆. There were many people from the local area who'd come along to the community day too, so we and they will see in a few months how the whips are getting on in their own private swimming pools.

Nine GoodGymers who visited Western Road on a cloudy Saturday morning were in their element the moment they jumped into action. And the element of the day was water. Somehow, miraculously, it didn't rain in the morning - that, obviously, had to happen at some point. It was the water tanks that served as the theme for the February session at the urban garden.

Firstly, a heavy tank had to be emptied of water and a sludge-like mess, then wheeled on a trolley to a different part of the garden. Secondly, two other water tanks - 1000-litre monsters each - were waiting to be placed in more suitable locations. Our job was to create those appropriate places for them: one high and one low. While Sophie and Afshin were digging a wide hole for one tank, Sevan and Steph were using the dirt extracted by them to build a platform for the other container.

A side quest, not related to water, had Danny, Kash and Steph moving woodchip to a newly planted section of the native hedging, to be raked by Kat and Iram. The fun part? There were only two wheelbarrows, one of them undergoing surgery at the beginning of the session. Once the barrow got a new (puncture-proof!) wheel installed, it got captured by Afshin, who had to move the soil for Sevan, who was building the water tank podium. The woodchippers ended up, again, with a single wheelbarrow between them, but quickly got creative and found some buckets to reduce the need for wheeled transportation.

Lena joined a team (partially including members of Let's Go Southall) whose job was to take down a mound of soil and use the material to even the ground around the polytunnel. And guess which tool was most useful to move the soil? Yes, that extra task meant even more competition for the wheelbarrows!

We managed to do the jobs thanks to teamwork and creativity, then found some time to enjoy fruit and hot and cold drinks in the polytunnel. White strawberries captured the most attention as a curiosity, unseen before by most Ealing GoodGymers.

This year's GoodGym Ealing's Christmas party didn't encourage us to get more steps in - it was just opposite St Mary's Church, at the New Inn pub in South Ealing! Big thanks to Iram, who found and booked the venue! The room we had was nice and quiet - until we started popping the Christmas crackers!

The jokes from the crackers were a perfect, silly warm-up to the traditional GoodGym quiz, prepared by quiz masters Sevan and Iram. The prize? Chocolates - and, if you were vegan, chocolate bars. Yum!

Just as if there was not enough joy (there was!) during the quiz, Santa himself visited us. He was very secretive - we couldn't guess his identity or where he got his gifts from. From books and plush reindeer to best of the best shower kits, everyone received a little something to take back home.

What a fun and festive evening it's been!

Harvey, Lena, and Iram braved the cold and rain to help the Hanwell Carnival team set up for their Winter Market and Grotto. With the aim of raising funds for next year’s carnival, there was plenty to prepare before the afternoon crowds arrived.

We got to work battening down the marquee hatches and securing the outdoor tent so the choir and visitors would have shelter if the weather didn't clear up. We shifted tables and benches to create space for craft stalls, a sheltered outdoor bar and a kids’ corner. A particularly spiky Spanish dagger (yucca) plant added unexpected jeopardy when it stabbed a volunteer’s finger, prompting a rapid table-based barricade to keep little hands safely away.

Find spots to hang the lights was a festive puzzle, but we managed to find various ways of securing lights onto the conservatory area.

There was even a guest appearance from Santa Claws (of the feline variety), who supervised proceedings from the warmth of inside the pub.