On a pleasant, dry Friday morning, GoodGym Ealing held a special session with an unusually early start at 7:45 am! Harvey, Steph, Sevan and Kash changed their morning routines to make their way to an industrial estate in Acton to visit a vibrant, green oasis hidden between warehouses and repair shops.

Originally, the session was arranged to help the six wildflower beds in Acton survive – and thrive! – during the recent May heatwave. Should it come as a surprise that climate change caused a sudden change in the weather? After the hailstorms, thunderstorms and a decent amount of rain mid-week, watering the beds in the morning was no longer a priority. There was still an impact to be made, though!

The beds, now displaying a range of amazing, colourful flowers and attracting pollinators, could, if left unattended, turn into far less biodiverse ecosystems. That's why we decided to remove the weeds known to be bullies in the plant world, ready to take over space from other species – among them a couple of sycamore saplings - and also tidy up the dead grasses.

Why did we decide to travel to Acton so early, though? We were visited by BBC Radio London reporter Nisha, who had already completed one volunteering session that day – at the Thames beach in Hammersmith. Nisha not only handled a live broadcast and produced material for other platforms but also found time to roll up her sleeves and join our task – one of her five volunteering sessions that day (even our Ealing heroes don't go to such extremes!). How impressive is that!

Four minutes of fame and three sacks of collected weeds later, the team dispersed to run or walk back home, then started the rest of their Fridays with so much already accomplished!

The first Tuesday of June marked an abrupt and definite end to the May heatwave, with hailstorms and thunderstorms raging over Ealing in the afternoon. Six GoodGymers who weren't scared off by the weather, caught in the worst of the rain, or stopped by the tube strikes were lucky enough to miss the downpour and even catch some shy rays of sunshine. Jumping over puddles, Freya, Steph, Sevan and Kash ran through Ealing Common to Popesfield Allotments to meet cyclist James and walker Anna.

The goal of the task, commissioned by the horticultural charity Cultivate London, was to clear a vegetable patch to serve as a communal starter plot for people on the allotment waiting list. The idea was to give them a chance to learn, practise, and enjoy growing their own fruit and veg while they wait for a plot of their own. As you may know, waiting for an allotment space in London can take years, so the GoodGym team was ready to take on the weeds that had spread across the patch and give those keen future gardeners the best possible start in food growing.

If you think the session was a typical power-weeding-raze-everything-to-the-ground-total-destruction affair, then think again! The veg patch was already planted with a variety of legitimate plants, so uncovering all the plot's secrets hidden beneath the overgrowth proved to be quite an educational experience. Although the GoodGymers were physically on their own at the allotment, the task owner from Cultivate was on the other side of Kash's phone, providing live support. The team trusted them more than Google Lens and happily sent over pictures of questionable plants for identification.

Among the plants the group recognised on their own, or with task owner's help, were poppies, tarragon, sage, artichokes, broccoli and other brassica plants, African kale, and curry plant (not to be confused with the curry tree, which actually produces curry leaves), to name just a few. The remaining greenery, classified as weeds, filled nearly two half-tonne bags, later hauled to the green waste disposal area. In less than an hour, the two-sided plot was unrecognisable and looked like a veg patch once again – if you can identify your veggies, of course!

Next Tuesday, we are off to Elthorne Park to keep burdock under control before it spreads too far, prevents other plants from thriving, and produces the burrs that get stuck in your dog's fur! Let's tackle this spiky troublemaker before it starts producing its prickly hitchhikers. Sign up now!