The finishing posts are in sight as the finishing touches and final tidy up got done. It was lovely to see Katie who did a great job weeding the brambles out of the wild flower area and the herb beds, and Stephanie who battled with the ivy and more brambles trying to reclaim the bird watching area. A lot of raking up dead leaves and a few more plants in place means that we're nearly ready for the big opening on 8th June. It's been a long journey and i hear that the children are getting very excited about the new area as they watch it come together.

Back at Knaphill Lower School and the nature garden is really coming into its own—so close to the finish line now you can almost hear the bugs moving in! Today’s task was all about the details. The concrete mushrooms made last week got a coat of paint, bringing a pop of colour to their new woodland home. Just the spots to paint on them now! Meanwhile, Vikki and Mark were busy working their magic on some logs, drilling in specialist dowels to create a mushroom growing bed—setting things up for some real fungi to join the party in time. Another small but satisfying step towards a fully flourishing garden 🌿

A great turn out today of 6 Goodgymers meant that we made great progress on the school garden. Luan and Kirsty started by collecting plants from another area of the school to add to the previous planting which is settling in and looking amazing. Anne and Katie painted the bug hotel with lovely red paint inspired by the Good Gym branding. Stephanie got stuck in to making some concrete mushrooms - we are very excited to see how those turn out. Julie finally got to use some of the massive compost heap to fill a wormery so that the children will be able to see how worms aerate the soil by creating tunnels and pull down leaf litter from the surface to help decompose it and create more lovely soil. A great team effort today - Vikki is planning a grand opening after half term so watch out for the date for this.

A small but mighty team of three GoodGymers headed back to Knaphill Lower School’s nature garden today, and with the finish line in sight, it was all hands on deck to bring the space closer to completion.

We kicked things off together, planting the last batch of flowers to add even more colour and life to the garden. With the beds blooming nicely, we then split off to tackle a few key jobs: Katie got creative, giving the bug hotel a fresh coat of paint – making it not only a cosy spot for insects, but a real feature in the garden. •Kirsty took on the perimeter, cutting back some wayward branches and helping to tidy up the edges of the space. •StephanieStephanie (that’s me!) took on the task of digging a deep hole for a post. It took some perseverance (and a bit of sweat!), but we got there in the end 💪 With the sun shining down on us, it was one of those sessions that reminds you why these tasks are so rewarding – great company, meaningful work, and a lovely setting. To top it all off, Vikki and Mark were really pleased with the what we achieved and how the garden is coming along. As a thank you for all the help over the past few months, they kindly gifted us a mug and a crochet coaster – such a lovely thing! The transformation of the garden has been incredible, especially over the past few weeks and it’s now looking absolutely fantastic. Just a few final touches to go… 🌿✨ Can’t wait to see it fully finished!