10 wonderful GoodGym folk made a green-fingered difference in Kentish Town!

Five of us – Alex, Danny, John, Matt, and Steve – started out from Somers Town yesterday evening.

Matt ran from Battersea Park – John sprinted from Euston Station – Danny ran down from Kentish Town – and Steve wove his usual route up from Bloomsbury!

Together we followed a steady route towards Willingham Terrace (situated in a very hot Kentish Town) and met five others – Alison, Caitlin, Helen, Lydia, and Sarah – each of whom made their own journeys (on foot and bike) to our good-deeding venue.

Hilda has lived on this estate for decades and she's transformed the green spaces – there's a bountiful allotment that was once a verge – and it's all thanks to Hilda's perseverance and creativity.

Yesterday was our second visit and we were focused once again on the communal square's hedgerow.

Weeds were pulled – grass edges were established – and four great big bags of cuttings were collected and disposed.

The difference was huge – and all under an overbearing July sun!

Thank you, everyone!! See you next time!!

The London Permaculture Festival is an annual celebration of natural ecosystems, and it's being hosted at Camden's Cecil Sharp House this Sunday!

Which was why our wonderful group – of Alex, Dani, John, Lydia, Nivia, Sarah, Siobhan, and Steve – assembled for an hour of nature-based volunteering!

Our task was to make sure Cecil Sharp's gardens were crisp and tidy, and ready for London's permaculture devotees!

We started amidst a flurry of brooms, rakes, and conversation – under a July sun we swept the paths and combed the lawn – and we filled bag upon bag in short order!

We then turned our attention – en masse – to the entrance gates.

John, Lydia, Sarah, and Siobhan tackled the main pathway – and they made quick thrift of weeds and leaves – leaving things looking perfectly wonderful!

Dani and Nivia focused their efforts on an area under a large tree – and they cleared the debris (and weeds and leaves!) – leaving an inviting shade spot!

And Alex and Steve helped our brilliant host (Susannah) move a chunk of festival fare down to the basement storage!

We finished by piling up bag (upon bag upon bag) of green waste into the van, before meandering off into a gentle evening :)

Thank you, everyone!!

3 GoodGymers – Victoria, Steve, and Alex – caught an hour of green-fingered volunteering today!

Sat on a tree-lined road in Primrose Hill is a care home that's made for a Sunday afternoon drama.

Rathmore House has character and space, and it makes a suitably restful home for 20 older residents.

The three of us jumped to work in the garden, which deserves to be safe and accessible for everyone.

Victoria trimmed the vines back from a box seat, pruned the rose bush (readying it for summer blooms), and pulled oodles of weeds from nooks and crannies!

Steve started with a patch of vines and moved onto sweeping and raking, collecting pile-upon-pile of leaves from the pathways and lawns!

And Alex attempted to keep up with Victoria and Steve!

Thank you, both!!

7 GoodGymers weathered the heat and the hills to make a wonderful difference in Waterlow Park!

High up in the heights of North Camden sits a very special green space – Waterlow Park's meandering pathways are filled with trees and flowers – and it's a blissful haunt for everyone who's lucky enough to know about it.

Our fabulous group – of Alison, Jackie, John, Lydia (on their first good deed – welcome!), Steve, and Tom – assembled next to a wheelbarrow filled with spades, forks, and clippers.

The task was a classic for GoodGym – a good ol' dig-up + re-use.

Jackie, John, Steve, and Tom grabbed forks and energy and made miraculous work easing oodles of flowers from a patch that will soon be replanted!

Meanwhile, Alison and Lydia prepared a new patch (watering and digging holes) and then planted the recently dug-up flowers!

In short thrift, one patch was cleared and tidy, while another was prepared and planted. This team made the heavy work look light.

Thank you, everyone!

10 wonderful GoodGymers made a HUGE difference... amidst the beats of a city festival!

Regent's Park is usually a sanctuary of peace – there's green and trees, flowers too – and you can often escape the sounds and bustle of nearby Camden.

But last night... we arrived to beats and drops and cheers... as well as three hefty security people guarding our entrance to the (wonderfully hidden) tool yard!

Pete – all round Camden nature hero – soon smoothed the way and we arrived at a yard that was desperate for a little GoodGym TLC :)

Our special group – Alex, Caitlin, Emily, Jackie, John, Michael, Natalia, Pete, and Steve – swiftly split into groups:

Michael and Jackie started by sorting and folding the pile of garden sacks – the holed sorted from the non-holed, and everything tidied and ready for use! And they then picked brooms and swept the yard to shine!

Alex and Natalia grabbed shears and tackled a Jumanji-esque patch of vines – they cleared everything and it was wonderful!

Caitlin, Emily, John, and Steve made light work of a pile of wood (keeping the larger bits that can be used for poles or building), before raking and sweeping and bagging a mountain of leaves (sifting the plastic trash from it as they did!)

And Pete was here and there and everywhere coordinating everything!

The yard looked liked a different yard at the end – a huge difference – even if we didn't quite get the peace we'd envisaged!

Thanks everyone!

6 GoodGymers ran 8 miles together today!*

This wonderful group – Al, Alex, Jenny, John, Kat, and Steve – caught Sunday morning vibes!

Regent's Park was busy with the strolling crowd, and we wove our way through to rack up three full loops!

We finished with coffee and continued the chats that had been flowing between us the whole way around :)

Here's to July's social run!!