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!

Stephanie, Ellie and Katie made their way to today's Goodgym task at Knaphill Lower School. The team met Vicki and Mark and helped with planting some flowers and plants into the flower bed in the garden area.

Goodgym members have been volunteering with the garden for several weeks and it was great to see how it's coming along.

It was great to welcome Ellie to her first task and we hope to see her again soon!

The Phoenix Cultural Centre is an amazing venue! I myself have attended a community music and food/drink festival there outside with a friend; it was my first time inside the building. We found out the huge site used to be the headquarters for KFC but now a community centre new to GoodGym we helped to decorate and transform some of the areas into brighter creative settings. There was a large table to move that Ola, Julie, Stephanie and myself moved together from one part of the building to the other. The rest was mostly decorating with posters and our own creative input. Elaine who met us there was lovely, she made us so welcome! Was happy for us to help her... Looking forward to helping out more at the centre! What a great project for Woking!

Saturday’s task at Knaphill Lower School came with a welcome change — sunshine! With blue skies overhead, it was a perfect morning to get stuck into some outdoor volunteering.

The job for the session was helping prepare materials for the school’s bug hotel. A pile of branches needed cutting down into smaller lengths so they could be packed neatly into the structure and create plenty of cosy hiding spots for insects and other mini-beasts.

With cutters in hand, I set about cutting the branches into suitable lengths to be stacked and packed, gradually turning the pile into bug-friendly building materials ready to be added to the hotel. It was a slow but satisfying task, and one that will help create a great habitat for wildlife around the school grounds.

A productive morning and a great step towards making the bug hotel even more welcoming for its tiny future residents!