Another week, another GG task - this week we were heading to The Albany to help in the garden. The team at The Albany have been focusing on the garden and making the best use of the space. Our tasks for the evening were to level out the compost pile and a litter pick of the garden. The litter gets blown in by the wind and also the foxes spread it around the garden.

We split into groups to tackle the different tasks and then got to work!

If anyone remembers the giant compost pile from our last visit, it was nearly as tall as most of us and was not easy to maintain. Luckily most of that had been cleared before we arrived so we had the task of leveling out what remained. Hopefully next time we visit there will be some dedicated compost bays!!

The litter team did a wonderful job of collecting 5+ bags of litter! One group I couldn't drag away from a pile of litter, that's definitely a better position to be in than no one wanting to litterpick.

Well done to everyone - we made a huge difference last night! Next week we are heading to Hither Green to do some tree care and post-driving.

We gathered at Glass Mill with the excitement of clearing the basement at Lewisham Unity building, nearly the same level of excitement as when we cleared the basement at Seniors!! After a quick warm up we were on our way to Lewisham Unity, it's a long straight run, there's is an option to go through Ladywell Fields but it adds on a bit of distance.

We made it past all the kebab shops making us feel hungry to find there was a meditation session happening and we wouldn't be clearing the basement...but there were lots of leaves to clear in the garden.

Not to be deterred by the change in task, the team got stuck in and soon there were bags and bags full of leaves! And also sticks neatly piled next to the skip.

Great work everyone, especially with a change of task!

Planting the bulbs at Florence Green had been months in the making! First the council didn't deliver them on time and then we were scuppered by the frozen ground meaning we couldn't get them in the soil even though they'd arrived. We finally had a date in the diary and there hadn't been any frost in sight.

The Glass Mill group made their way up to Florence Green whilst others met us at the task. Paul was in a virtual Cardiff suburb (Lewisham Way) tackling the litter to help achieve a relay that GoodGym Cardiff are doing for the January Challenge.

Once all assembled and the bulbs in hand, we set about planting big bulbs closest to the tree and smaller bulbs towards the outside. We had to be careful not to dig up bulbs that we've previously planted and also deep enough so the squirrels don't try and dig them up for a tasty snack!

It's nearly the end of the January Challenge and we're so close to achieving our goal - fantastic work team!!

It's week two of the 2026 January Challenge, and this week's Wednesday group run took 12 GoodGymers to the Prince Phillip Maritime Collection Centre in Kidbrooke. This is one of our regular missions, often involving moving pallets, ceiling panels & boats, but tonight's task was an adventure in winter gardening.

We got to the task ready for anything after a run from Charlton House, where we were briefed on our tasks, including some weeding of the raised beds, a spot of litterpicking, and turning of the compost heap - you could say we were met with a worm welcome...! The compost project involved removing the top layer of vegetation, spreading the soil beneath on the plant beds, and replacing that plant matter back - a quick biogeography lesson in practice for us, and a great growing environment for the fresh plants come spring!

As usual, time slipped through our gardening gloved fingers, so it was time for a group photo and back to our roots. Great work all & see you soon 😊

Ps. check out our insta video to see an overview of the session!

Coming up...

As well as our regular Parkruns volunteering, on Saturday we have leafleting for the White Swan and Sunday is our 10th birthday celebration when we'll be renovating the pond at Brooklands and heading to Sapori's for pizza afterwards!

Next wednesday we're painting at Charlton Manor Primary School.!