A mild July morning saw seven volunteers assembling for a conservation day in beautiful woodlands near Sudbury Hill tube station. There were four GoodGymers and four Friends of Grove Farm. Wait, where are my maths skills? Here’s a secret: the leader of the Grove Farm volunteer group, Mike, is also secretly a GoodGymer! And with his determination and skills, we can count him as two people!

Sevan and Steph warmed up for the session with uphill runs ranging from 8 to 10km, while Kash did a 30 minutes walk and hopped on the picturesque part of the Piccadilly line.

Today's task was to clear brambles, bushes and even trees that had started to overtake the pavement along the lane leading from the Sudbury Hill tube station to David Lloyd sports centre.

Loppers, shears, hedge trimmers, a saw, a litter picker, and 14 eager hands were all that was needed to clear the excess vegetation and rubbish and throw the cuttings (not the litter!) on the existing dead hedge. But was it all the clearance that the GoodGymers did that day? Well, with warm, summer weather encouraging our team to wear shorts and t-shirts, Steph, Sevan and Kash ended up pulling out the thorns from their shoes, socks, knees, toes, hands and arms throughout the rest of the day!

Despite a few scratches, the session was very satisfying. We are already looking forward to the next conservation day at Grove Farm in August - sign up with us now.

Michelle and two members of The Friends of Grove Farm walked around the nature reserve armed with bags and pickers for litter-picking. Walking along the paths in the reserve, we were surprised to see just a few bits of rubbish. After collecting what we could, we walked out to the road and found much more interesting items littered. I found three packets of unopened pierogi and a strawberry milkshake- would have been great for a picnic in the reserve! We stopped for a water break, and took a few photos next to our litter haul. The Friends of Grove Farm members continued for a bit longer and Michelle headed off to enjoy the spring sunshine.

Today's Grove Farm group was lower in numbers as some volunteers chose to attend the Restore Nature Now protest in the morning hours. Mike and Olena were on duty as early as 9 am, chopping away ivy, brambles and the wonkiest tree branches.

The GoodGym team didn't disappoint. Kash walked to lead the session from South Ealing, while our new starter, Bal, came from Hayes, where there is no GoodGym... yet! He showed great enthusiasm for GoodGyming: a dose of outdoor exercise, helping the community, meeting new people and getting some fresh air - much more fun than sitting on the sofa munching croissants! Bal even drafted his first report as soon as the mission registration email came up. That's the spirit!

"Spent a couple of hours gardening in Grove Farm - had a great time!" - Bal

Sevan came a bit later, running all the way from the Northfields train set task.

Today's job was to continue clearing the vegetation near the Whitton Avenue entrance to the park, this time on the left-hand side of the path. Mike was hopeful that would discourage local drinkers from hiding in the bushes and chugging on cheap beer. Loppers, trimmers, rakes and saws were in operation, complimented by some old-fashioned pulling young tree trunks by hand. Olena and Bal collected a number of beer cans, previously hidden in the thicket. Mike, Sevan and Bal piled up the trimmings to build a dead hedge that could serve as a habitat for insects and small mammals. At the end of the session, the area by the entrance looked far less wild. Hopefully, our work will improve the safety of Grove Farm visitors and prevent antisocial behaviours.

Missed today's session? Do not worry! There will be plenty of brambles and ivy to tackle in a month, so join us at the July Grove Farm session!