Friends of Waterman’s Park had a grand vision. Forget boring planters or a generic wildflower meadow. Enter the Dragon... path! The Green Dragon Path was going to be planted in a wildflower area, currently overtaken by grass. The creative vision came with a design on paper - what better way to attract adventurers than a map to a dragon’s treasure waiting to be uncovered!

Maria walked all the way from Hackney to Brentford to be part of this grand community endeavour, created in partnership with Green Dragon Primary School (how cool is that for a school name!). Amy, although new to GoodGym and West London, already had a couple of local volunteering tasks under her belt and couldn’t miss this one, so she cycled to Waterman’s Park too. Finally, Sevan and Kash - already having found some dragon figurines in the morning and gone on a Hobbit-style quest at noon - were up for anything that involved dragons and magic. All four GoodGymers were exactly where they needed to be.

After a bit of anticipation - while the visionary lead explained the approach, the mower was connected, the right tools arrived, and parents with children joined the effort to bring the dragon to life - everyone got to planting.

The soil was dry and hard, full of rocks and bricks, and it wasn’t easy at all to dig into, even for the smallest flowers. Luckily, the more powerful tools soon arrived and changed the course of the session. Sevan and Kash, already familiar with mattocks and pickaxes, were delighted to see the right tools to break through the impenetrable ground. One of the volunteers, Seyed - an embodiment of skill and strength - took mattocking to the next level, helping others dig holes and unearthing an impressive block of concrete, which later found its resting place in the Thames.

Maria and Amy, initially reluctant to admit their undiscovered love for hacking into the ground with a mattock - saying things like “You’re the strong one, you do it” or “I prefer a smaller, more gentle tool” - quickly changed their minds once they gave it a go. The mattock and pickaxe proved irresistible, and soon the pair were sending tremors through the soil that seemed to awaken the sleeping dragon. The mystical creature came to life, with flowers and spiky ornamental grasses shaping its winding body, head, and fishy tail. What a wonderful creation for the community it was!