The gorgeous Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park covers 27 acres and is home to a wide range of wildlife and plants.

Volunteers offer support to Park Manager Ken and his team to help manage the site, including the maintenance of its many pathways.

16 GoodGymers gathered this evening to help remove cow parsley from one of the pathways.

We welcomed Jasand Carina to their first Monday night task before Ken greeted us with a short briefing, tonight's pun and some good guidance on the task ahead...

Why cow parsley?

Cow parsley can spread rapidly and dominate open spaces, overshadowing smaller plants. Managing its spread helps keep a balanced and varied landscape.

The team spent a productive hour in the overgrowth, performing many squats to carefully uproot the stems, and taking it in turns to wheel loads around the corner to the green waste pile, before hurling armfuls of greenery onto this great big green mountain.

By the end of the evening, pathway clearings were more visible (see Emma’s before and after pics) showing immediate results of tonight’s effort.

It was gone 8 when we gathered gloves, forks and wheelbarrows and headed to the nearest bench for our final group pic! Ambling back through the park, we concluded it was something of a relief to enjoy a task in the daylight, complete with warm sun.

Until next time.

On a bright April Monday evening, a group of 15 GoodGymers gathered at the Rocky Park community garden nestled in the heart of Hollybush Gardens.

Led by Margaret and Ash—and enthusiastically supported by canine companions, Basil and Wicked—the team rolled up their sleeves for a productive session of digging, lifting, and laughing.

The garden is currently undergoing a transformation, with particular focus on the planters and borders – GoodGymers have been attending regularly to help progress the project.

We were divided into three teams to tackle different tasks: One group focused on turning and depositing soil into the compost bays (better than leg day, in my opinion). Another team tackled a sizeable planter, digging and turning the earth in preparation for new planting. Meanwhile, a third team worked with precision and care (I think), relocating dozens of newly potted donated trees and shrubs.

The pace was brisk, the company sublime and the tasks certainly gave some participants a solid Monday workout.

As we approached 8pm, tools were collected, wheelbarrows stacked, and the ideal group shot spot identified.

After perfecting the pic and making a quick final fuss of the dogs, Best Task Owner in the World, Margaret, presented the team with Easter eggs, accompanied by Lobo’s Milky Ways, ensuring the team’s glycogen stores were fully replenished for the journey home.

A splendid start to Easter!

Until next time.

Margaret and Ash had the dubious honour of having not 1, not 2, but 4 Taskforce members attending their task on this gloriously sunny Saturday. We headed off to Keddlestone Community Centre (a leafy oasis in the heart of Bethnal Green) to finish building a shed. It soon became apparent that none of us had built an Ikea flatpack successfully let alone a shed - but what we lacked in experience we made up for in enthusiasm. A majority decision was made (without me) that I would write up the report. We then headed off to the pub to celebrate completing the task. We are back with Margaret and Ash this Monday.😊

13 GoodGymers gathered this evening (after a slow start, thanks to my inaccurate address on the listing) to lend a hand to the estate’s dedicated gardening group.

The Columbia TRA gardening team is made up of residents who enjoy getting involved in and around the estate’s gardens, and our visit tonight was all about supporting their ongoing efforts.

With the recent dry weather taking its toll on the estate’s many garden areas (not that we’re complaining after the rainiest start to the year in history), it was great to be joining Ed, Ed and Maddie to give the plants a much-needed drink and support ongoing preparations for new growing areas.

After a little coordination, the group split into teams: one group tackled the orchard watering, where the challenge of the night was figuring out how to coax the hosepipe into action (way to go, Chris).

With the water flowing, the team proceeded to fill buckets and watering cans on the first floor, giving the young fruit trees and surrounding plants a good soak under the watchful eye of Ed and Maddie.

Meanwhile, another team got to work moving piles of rubble across the estate (and didn't let up for a second). This was part of groundwork being done for a future garden project—an exciting addition that the gardening group has been planning to bring more life to a different corner of the estate.

Big thanks to the residents who welcomed us in and to everyone who kept the wheelbarrows rolling and the buckets flowing. An extra big shout-out to Lara who joined us tonight for our first task - amazing tough work on your first GoodGym activity, Lara! Hope to see you again soon.

And a whopping cheer for our brilliant Task Force, for helping manage and wrap-up tonight's task.

Next week, we're Limehouse-bound to see Kamal to finish the preparation of the yard...

Until then.

A few Goodgymers supported The Felix Project this afternoon; a charity that rescues surplus food from the food industry and redistributes it to those in need across London.

Today, some of the GoodGymers were asked to help in the kitchen and were tasked with assembling meal containers. We gloved up and arranged ourselves on the packing line. Michelle added potatoes to a container (and later switched to rice when the potatoes ran out), which was passed to Aga who added the broccoli, then Tudor who added the chicken and sauce, and finally to Nicolas for sealing and packing, ready for delivery later today. It was a swift packing line. Thanks to Aga for coining the report title!

It was Aga and Michelle’s second session with The Felix Project, and Tudor’s first session with GoodGym. Welcome Tudor! It was Nicolas’ first time at The Felix Project, and he stayed on for a bit longer after the lovely lunch that was set out for all the volunteers. Well done to all the GoodGymers who supported The Felix Project today!