It's been a long time since we last helped out at The Exchange in Erith, so it was great to be back.

The Exchange has a wonderful garden, and we'd been asked to help turn a large compost heap by moving its contents from a full pen into the empty one next door.

First, we needed to clear away nettles and brambles, and collect discarded flower pots and litter to give ourselves better access. So it was on with the heavy-duty gloves and out with the secateurs and litter pickers! This didn't take long, and soon we were ready for the main event.

If you've never moved compost, you might be surprised just how hard work it is! We certainly got a good workout as we forked the material from one side to the other. As part of the process, we also cut small twigs and stems into shorter pieces to help them rot down more quickly. Anything thicker than a pencil was picked out and tossed into one-tonne bags to be disposed of elsewhere.

In our allotted time, we managed to turn over about half the compost, so there may well be a return visit to finish the job.

Karen, manager at The Exchange, seemed very pleased with our efforts and rewarded us with hot drinks in the lovely coffee bar. It was a welcome chance to sit and chat over hot chocolates and coffees before heading home, tired but happy!

When Mr Davies, the head teacher at St Peter Chanel Primary School, asked if we could help the Year 5 APT (Air Pollution Team) with some planting, we were very happy to lend a hand.

Working alongside the children, we planted heather, cyclamen, hardy shrubs, grasses and herbs in the flowerbeds outside the school reception, making the area greener and more wildlife-friendly 🐝🌻🌱.

As we worked together, the children explained that the whole project had been their own idea. They told us they had even walked to the local B&Q to choose the plants themselves (with a little help from the shop's staff). Everything was funded by money they had won through the London Children's Flower Society's 'Growing Together Grant', which also covered the cost of compost, brightly coloured trowels and some rather cute penguin-motif gardening gloves!

Once all the planting was done, we helped give everything a good watering and the job was complete.

It was brilliant to see the children so engaged with the task and talking so confidently about their project. We hope they're really proud of what they've achieved – the flowerbeds look fantastic, and it's lovely to know the children have played such a big part in making their school a greener place 🌿🌼

Mr Davies sent us this message:

A huge thanks for the team’s support today - it was greatly appreciated and we’ve already had so many comments about the front of the school!

Thank you Mr Davies for inviting us to be involved.

We also loved having Lisa with us for her first task as a full member of team GoodGym Bexley. (You may remember Lisa and her husband Justin joined us a few weeks ago as honorary GGers in their official capacity as Mayor of Bexley and Consort.) Great to have you with us Lisa 🥳.

It's not often we're accompanied by a bear, but that's exactly what happened during our task this evening! 🐻

We gathered at Welling Library, where Julie and Alex from Discover Welling were waiting for us. Alex was dressed as a rather large, cute bear. Julie had brought along a big roll of stickers promoting Welling Sparkle, the town's Christmas market.

Our task was to put the stickers on all 72 lamp posts along the high street. We split into two teams, unwound a supply of stickers for each and set off in opposite directions to cover the ground as efficiently as possible.

Working along one side of the road, we peeled the stickers from their backing roll and applied two to each lamp post to create a complete wrap. Once we'd reached the end of our stretch, we crossed over and worked our way back along the other side, eventually meeting up with the other team.

(In case you were worried, the stickers use a low-tack adhesive, so they'll come off cleanly after the event. And the council had sanctioned their application to the lamp posts.)

Our friendly bear was certainly a hit with passers-by, handing out high fives and stopping for photos. It was lovely to see so many smiles along the way!

Welling High Street is a long one, so we certainly clocked up some good mileage while getting all those lamp posts dressed for the Sparkle ✨.

Let's hope our efforts help bring plenty of people along to the event. A bear-y good evening's work! 🐻