Laura and the team from Holy Redeemer Pre-School had asked us to help get the outdoor area ready for back-to-school tomorrow.

When we arrived - between us walking, running and cycling to get there - Laura pointed us towards the fruit and vegetable garden where nature had run wild during the summer holidays!

The brambles had thrived, the gourd plants had launched a full-on invasion of the strawberry plants in the raised bed in the other side of the path 🎃 🍓 , weeds were rife among the strawberries, and sneaky bindweed had wound its way around pretty much everything!

Gloves on, and secateurs and shears at the ready, we got busy cutting back and pulling-up. Then we more gently untangling bindweed from the tomato and gourd plants plants, careful not to damage their precious fruits that the children will be so excited to see.

After filling the garden waste bin to the brim and a quick sweep up, we were done.

Now the path around the plants is clear for the children to walk around and explore what's growing. We hope they'll be delighted to see the colourful fruit and vegetables, and our guess is that there will be some tasting going on too!

We'll be back again at the end of the month, helping turn old pallets into storage for music instruments! Come and join us - the more the merrier!

It's not often that GoodGym is asked to go out and look for fairies, but there's a first for everything!

Discover Welling had invited us to test their augmented virtual reality trails, created using a new app called Love Exploring.

As an 'anytime task' GoodGymers could do it as and when they wanted, before the deadline.

Kam was the first to give it a go, finding a few virtual reality tree fairies 🧚‍♀️, then giving feedback to Discover Welling via an online form.

The rest of us decided to meet up and try the trails together. Between us we found not only VR tree fairies, but various VR bugs too, including a giant - and rather scary - ladybird 🐞.

We loved the concept but the Love Exploring app had quite a few bugs of its own that need to be ironed out so that Discover Welling's creativity can shine though.

Today was a fantastic session where thirteen GoodGymers from GG Bexley, GG Greenwich and GG Ealing came together to make a real difference at Crossness Pumping Station, built in the 1800s as part of London's first sewage system.

It was lovely to have Dinali and Ian with us for their first GG task, and celebrate Mo's 10th good deed.

We were met by Tom, the museum's Volunteering Manager who, after a warm welcome, split us into two groups.

'Team Ballast' worked with regular volunteer Rob and others on the narrow gauge railway. We dug out a shallow trench under the lifted tracks, and shoveled in ballast stones to help restore the line ready for re-opening to the public.

Rob said that it would have taken one person a whole day to complete what we achieved in just one hour 💥.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the site in the Victorian Formal Garden, 'Team Lavendar' was busy cutting back lavender. It smelled lovely! The cuttings will be used to make bars of soaps, which will be sold in the shop.

For both teams it was amazing to see how much we could accomplish by working together.

After tea and biscuits in the Ness Cafe, we had a brief look at the historical display of toilets in the museum - including one of the first flushing models by Thomas Crapper.

Then we put on hard hats and safety glasses, for Tom's tour of the incredible engine hall, giving the opportunity to learn more about the history and engineering behind this fascinating place.

We certainly put all our senses to work, including experiencing some of the distinctive smells associated with the historic pumping station and its original purpose 💩!

Overall, it was a brilliant opportunity to contribute to the local area, learn about its history and engineering, and make a positive impact through volunteering, and show that when we come together and work as a team, we can achieve so much more than we could alone.

We hope to help out at the museum more regularly from now, on so watch thus space if you'd like to join us!

Three of us were at Eltham junior parkrun this morning, each taking on a different volunteer role!

Peter was keeping time, Johnny was out on the course marshalling — complete with his big red foam hands for plenty of high fives for the runners — and Sarah was on barcode scanning duty.

Along with the other volunteers, a great team effort helping make junior parkrun happen! 👏🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️