Yesterday, Luan and I were pleased to lend a hand to West Byfleet Matters as they prepared for their Outdoor Cinema event showing Mamma Mia! at West Byfleet Junior School. It was our first time volunteering with the team and we quickly got stuck into a variety of tasks to help get the site ready. We helped erect the gazebo for the drinks tent, unloaded tables, drinks and other equipment from several cars, and moved football goalposts out of the way to create space for the event setup on the school field. It was great to support a local community event and see how much work goes on behind the scenes before everyone arrives to enjoy the evening. A big thank you to the West Byfleet Matters team for making us feel so welcome. We enjoyed helping out and hope to be back again to support future events

Setting up for a Fair day

Friday evening saw me heading over to St John's Church to help with preparations for their Summer Fair, taking place the following day. There was plenty to do to get everything ready. I helped unload cars packed with donations and supplies, moved tables out from storage and carried boxes of items that would be sold at the fair. After a busy session of lifting, and carrying alongside the volunteers at the church, everything was out ready for the them to finish setting up ahead of Saturday's event. Hopefully the fair was a great success and enjoyed by everyone who attended!

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 🌿