It was a brisk and blustery one in Danson Park on Saturday, but that didn’t stop the team from getting stuck in. Robert and I were especially pleased to welcome two new GoodGym Bexley members, Zara and Ian, to their very first task — and what a great one to start with!

As part of our ongoing collaboration with the brilliant Friends of Danson Park, we rolled up our sleeves to help make our beloved park even more beautiful (and biodiverse!), as we got involved in planting around 300 plugs of Yellow Rattle in the rock garden.

If you haven’t come across Yellow Rattle before, it’s a bit of a quiet hero. By drawing nutrients from dominant grasses, it helps create space for wildflowers to thrive, boosting biodiversity and providing a valuable nectar source for pollinators. A small plant with a big impact!

The ground, however, had other ideas… with no rain recently, the soil had turned impressively stubborn. So much so that Ian, in a heroic first-task effort, managed to break a trowel while trying to get those plugs in the ground 💪🌱. (Don’t worry — we’ve got photographic evidence.) Safe to say, he passed his GoodGym initiation with flying colours!

Despite the chilly wind, spirits were high, tools (mostly) survived, and it was fantastic to see new faces getting involved from the get-go.

Huge thanks to everyone who came along, and a big welcome again to Zara and Ian. Hope this is the first of many tasks with us!

After what felt like approximately 47 straight days of rain (give or take), we were delighted to welcome a very special guest to Saturday’s session in Danson Park… the sun! Honestly, we’re starting to think the sun might be a GoodGymer - it turned up right on time and boosted everyone’s energy levels instantly.

We teamed up with the fantastic Friends of Danson Park for a productive morning tackling overgrown bushes around the park. With bird nesting season just around the corner, it was important to get the cutting back done now, making the area tidier, safer, and ready to flourish in spring, without disturbing any future feathery residents.

Armed with loppers, secateurs and plenty of enthusiasm, we got stuck in. There’s something deeply satisfying about transforming a wild tangle of branches into neat, manageable greenery. And even more satisfying doing it together.

It was one of those sessions that reminds you why community tasks are so brilliant: fresh air, visible impact, good chats, and that smug post-task feeling of 'we did that'.

Huge thanks to everyone who came along and to Friends of Danson Park for having us.

Same again when the sun’s available? 😉

After Susan staying in bed longer this morning and a call from Sarah we eventually all got together at the Welling Library for a good tidy up session.

It had been tipping down with rain but miraculously stopped once we got stuck into weeding, litter picking and sweeping the area to make it look respectable again.

It didn't take long to get the outside looking smart but a lot of rubbish was collected including lots of items on the bingo card! We all felt satisfied at our achievement!

Well done everyone who attended! It just shows how great you are!

Of course our reward was waiting for us in Devi's Corner with the obligatory coffees, hot chocolates and chat. A great way to spend a Sunday morning.