Our 5 merry Goodgymers went on planting trees on this nice and sunny Saturday afternoon. Trees needed to be moved and planted elsewhere. Wheelbarrows were moved, dirt was dug,water was poured and weed was removed : a very efficient session on this island.

But it wasn't without counting on the current drama happening on the island: female duck being courted by 3 suitors (or 2,maybe only 1 and the others were there for the fight, it wasn't really clear). A story we didn't have the end of. Hopefully on the next episode/session, things will have calm down on the island for the wildlife.

A beautiful spring afternoon saw Nivi, Rachel, Christine, Anne-Laure and Sheila join the weekly work party at Ray Mill Island. Anne-Laure was keen to do raking of leaves to help expose the grass, and Nivi helped another volunteer paint tree signs. Meanwhile the others tackled the enormous Phormium plant which needs removing from the new nursery area.The team last week had done a good job of starting to dig it out, so our task was to try and finish the job. Armed with spades, loppers, a half-moon cutter and a pruning saw, we started attacking the plant. Some side shoots of the plant were saved for planting up to generate new plants. It was a tough old job, but we kept at it and eventually we were victorious, severing the plant from the earth.

Great to see a big turn out of GoodGymers tonight. 12 happy volunteers met on the roof of Nicolsons Centre, a part of Maidenhead most of us had never been before. Task owner Donna led us from the back entrance to what used to be a nightclub, Smokeys. No disco lights or bars anymore, just a stripped out large space housing all kinds of materials from fabric to paints, from stationery to sewing machines! 

Our task was to organise things as best as we could. We made good progress and grouped the material lying in two rooms of Smokeys into categories such as Paints, Arts & crafts, Stationery, Fabric, Leather, Sewing, Gardening, Jars and more. From here, they will slowly be taken down to the Green Skills library to be upcycled. 

We were so efficient that there was even time for some fun with a block of stone, a chisel and hammer! Another productive, social evening and a thankful task owner. 

Mick, Nivi and myself were joined by Nivi's daughter and three other Friends of Raymill. Between us we cleared the beds of leaves, weeded out more of the invasive Winter Heliotrope, dug some more of the rockery and repainted the bubbles on the path.

The Maiden with Swans is a much-loved and iconic sculpture on Ray Mill Island created by Eunice Goodman and donated to the Island in 1988. Over the years she has suffered some damage, with holes appearing in her base which has let in water and debris. She has also lost her original bronze colour, and the Friends wanted to try and restore her to her former glory. A local creative artist Richard Grant offered to carry out the renovations but needed some extra pairs of hands to help out. Nivi and Sheila helped out on the first morning together with a couple of other volunteers. First job was to brush down the sculpture, getting rid of as much of the debris as possible, including scooping out all the muck from inside the base. The stonework around the sculpture was taped off and then it was time for a chemistry lesson. Two chemicals were mixed together vigorously, poured down paper tubes positioned in holes in the base, and after a few minutes they expanded to form a structural polyurethane foam and left to harden. Fascinating! Sheila returned on the afternoon of day 2 to find the base fully stabilised and repaired, and one of the swans painted with bronze resin. The next job was to rub down the rest of the sculpture, brush it down and clean with acetone before painting. By the end of the afternoon the second Swan had been finished as well as the Maidenhead seal. It was fascinating to be part of the project and contribute to the restoration of this beautiful statue

A creative team of Goodgymers joined forces with Friends of Raymill Island to brighten up and enhance the fun pavement games we had created a few weeks before.

A full dozen of us gathered on Raymill Island and welcomed Ailsa for her first Goodgym session, it was great to have such a large group from both teams.

Our job was two-fold tonight, first re-paint what we had created last time to make the colours pop again and secondly to create some more fun activities for visitors to play! We split ourselves up and some took on the previous creations of, wiggly worms, walking the stem, popping bubbles and hopscotch and gave them a new sparkle! Others helped to create the new bright rainbow, paint the letters of the alphabet, add ladybirds to the hopscotch and paint plasters to the tree roots (to show we were helping to mend and give new life to the island).

It was great fun and everyone brushed up well together to bring the creations to life. Well Done All!