This event was a fundraiser for Teach First, a charity training & placing teachers in the areas they're most needed. Volunteering roles included marshaling, water station & cloakroom duties. Plus lots of cheering on of runners doing 5 and 10k races! A brilliant event with such a fun, positive atmosphere.

2 GoodGym-ers helped out at Maryon Park Community Garden today. Our mission was to help get the area tidier ready for the Urban Harvest Open Day next Saturday. Our tasks included sweeping away fallen leaves from the paths & tidying up with Edna in the polytunnel used for growing seedlings. We were supervised by a friendly Robin who has made the garden their home, and finished the task with a crash course in the rules of cricket from Tim! Everyone welcome at the open day next Saturday 14th September.

Dearest gentle reader...

The end of one Season appears to be upon us, so let us take these opportunities to promenade along our beautiful river...

(Sadly I'm not a period drama writer so that's as far as that goes....) However - a warmish late summer evening meant just that for 8 GoodGymers, as we made our way from the Royal Naval College for a run along the Thames to Christ Church in Greenwich, where we had plenty of autumnal tasks to keep us busy. Lots of chopping, pruning, and sawing of branches ensued, (we saw some great teamwork reaching those high branches with litter pickers and long stemmed shears...!) making for better drainage & natural light entering the building. Other team members re-planted shrubs which needed saving from their broken planters, ready for the new season. Dusk crept up on us too quickly, and it was time to move on for a pint at the Yacht. Happy birthday to Jenny and special welcome to Jackie on your first session- it was lovely to have you with us.

Have a great week all 🙂

Next week we're at Charlton Manor Primary school. Until next time!

Everyone loves a new venue for a Goodgym adventure, and tonight's did not disappoint. Wednesday 17th July gave us a balmy summer evening for 7 GoodGym-ers to met outside Charlton House to share childhood memories and a few warm up games before a short run to Charlton Manor Primary School.

We were shown to the beautiful Secret Garden at the school, which has recently lost its gardener so needs a few extra hands on deck to get the weeds under control and the growing areas ready for the children to start planting flowers and crops. Much digging and cutting down of unwanted vegetation ensued, being careful to avoid the good stuff like potatoes, leeks & wildflowers. We were joined by the chickens from the school's coop who had a great time pecking around for worms, along with several villages of snails. Before long we'd run out of space in the huge bin we were using for what we cleared and it was time to jog back to Charlton House for some cool down stretches.

There's still lots of work to be done, so we'll be back to this lovely hidden garden with its beehives, chatty chickens, fruit trees and so much else.

Next week we're at Glyndon Community Centre. Thanks all & see you soon!

On a cool, but thankfully dry, July morning, five GoodGym-ers volunteered at the Beats, Boards and BBQ festival. This ​is a great community event held annually in Charlton Park, with loads of activities including a skatejam competition, Afrofusion market, rap workshops, bouncy castles, T-shirt decorating, live graffiti mural and even a spot of dog skateboarding!

We joined the friendly team of volunteers to help them out with a range of set-up tasks. We started by putting up three gazebos of various shapes and sizes, then built a fence around the dog agility area, and finally we arranged the deckchairs around the site. Great effort everyone!

Football? What football?! On Wednesday evening the sun finally shone again as four GoodGymers met at Charlton House. After a nice lap of the park, we headed off to Hervey Road sports ground to help Richie with some tasks in the community garden. We were delighted to see the wildflower seeds recently planted were begin to grow, so one group was given the task of weeding the grass from this area. Richie told us the plan to germinate Yellow Rattle here (he’d traveled all the way to Scotland for the seeds!) which will help the wildflower meadow thrive. The second group was given the task of turning the compost, creating ‘lasagna layers’ of compost and dried grass. After a final fight with some determined brambles, we headed off (after solving the issue of having been locked in the grounds for the night!).

Well done team!