During a mild late-September evening, a core group of five GoodGymers laced up their trainers and ran out to join Round Hill Society committee member Dominic—a true force of nature in the local neighbourhood.

The Autumn Community Clear-up is now officially done (Ehm, almost)! The team tackled the Cats’ Creep first, clearing away the worst of the overhanging branches to keep the pathway clear. From there, we channelled our best energy into scraping weeds along Round Hill Crescent, successfully clearing an impressive 80 metres of pavement.

Usually, a massive surge of weeds often strikes after the late summer rains (!) throughout August and September. Scraping during this specific autumn window is crucial, as it targets winter annuals and perennials right before they go dormant. Fortunately, GoodGym never goes dormant! We had a fantastic session, and I reckon we will be back for similar action very soon.

Shout-out to GoodGymer Sarah on hitting the big 50 on the Heroes Leaderboard! 🏃‍♀️✨

Driven by community spirit, GoodGym fuses fitness and volunteering by connecting GoodGymers with local partners and volunteers through a "one workforce approach." I borrow that brilliant term 😉 from yesterday’s Active Sussex Conference, which showcased the innovative Stronger for Life programme. This award-winning initiative improves strength and balance, prevents falls, and combats muscle loss from inactivity among older adults and stroke recovery patients.

Join GoodGym for another session!

How many cigarette butts can you pick up in just 15 minutes? ⏱️

That was the challenge thrown down by our host, Melanie from The Green Centre Brighton, when the GoodGym and Active Sussex crews teamed up at The Level this past Tuesday.

Even though it started pouring right at 1pm (classic British weather! 🌧️), everyone rolled up their sleeves for the Green Centre’s Green Spaces Programme. The mission? Show some love to our local park and clear out as much litter as possible.

In just a quarter of an hour, every single volunteer bagged between 75g and 100 g of cigarette butts, with Mac leading the charge! It might sound like a small dent, but it’s a massive win for Keep Britain Tidy's Cigarette Butts Are Rubbish Campaign. Believe it or not, cigarette butts are the UK's biggest litter problem, with an estimated 2.4 million of them dropped on England's high streets at any given moment, despite a decreasing number of adults who smoke regularly.

In total we collected 14.54 kgs of litter.

General waste: 7.37 kgs (incinerated at Newhaven recovering energy to create electricity) Aluminium Cans: 0.86 kgs (weighed in at Richardson's scrap metal yard) Plastic: 1.29 kgs (recycled) Glass: 5.02 kgs (recycled) Cigarette butts: 1,250 Kg - this was rounded down slightly because everything was wet. (included in general waste)

This hands-on GoodGym community mission was the perfect way for both groups to put their eco-goals into action! GoodGym aims to make a positive environmental impact by combining exercise with conservation tasks that increase biodiversity and green spaces. Similarly, among their core actions since signing their Environmental Sustainability Commitment, Active Sussex are embedding eco-friendly practices into daily operations, engaging local sports networks, and advocating for better access to quality blue and green spaces.

Taking part in this park clearance was the perfect opportunity to "walk the talk." By maintaining and improving the city's green spaces, we help ensure these vital areas remain clean, safe, and welcoming places for everyone to get outdoors and stay active. 🌿🏃‍♂️

Active Sussex, you are welcome to join us again anytime!