Getting In Touch With Nature

19 Goodgymers helped their local community in Southwark
Mai Teladia
Denzel Kessie
Mo Afzal
Nighat Hasnain
Uzma Peeran
Fahad
Bunmi Hazzan
Fatima Rangrej
Emily Rossage
Dominika Sadurek
Iain Aikman
Jenni Forbes
Steve Whennell
Sophie Royds
Ciara Fay
Ben Steer
Natalia Higginson
Paul Thomas
KULAY LABITIGAN
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Southwark

Wednesday 23rd September

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Denzel Kessie
Denzel Kessie

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Report written by Denzel Kessie

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This was a special charity day GoodGym set up for the team at Radius Insights.

First I meant the team at there office and took them on a 3km walk to the Galleywell Nature Reserve, an amazing oasis of natural habitat in Central London. The reserve allows nature to thrive, and is a vital resource for the local community and adjacent school who can visit to learn about the environment.

After a quick intro from the head of the nature reserve Paul, we got straight to work. We started off by having the guy move a big roof that's soon to be discarded. The girls were all given small garden spades and sphaerocephalon allium bulbs. They were required to dig holes that were either 4 or 6 inches deep, depending on the size of the bulbs. The bulbs were then planted and covered up so that they'll be able to grow fully by this time next year.

Whilst digging, one of the girls managed to unearth a dead bird filled with maggots. This was a huge shock but it was also something everyone found funny later on. That will be a interesting story to tell later. Whilst the girls were planting, the guys were shoveling manure into wheel barrels and spreading them around so that the nature reserve would have more places for plants to grow.

Thank you to the Radius Insights team, the work done will have a real impact on local residents. Galleywell is a vital green spaces in the borough with a invertebrate habitat wall, made out of recycled materials and gradually being built by volunteers. The site is currently well used by the adjacent school, and raised beds, native climbers and a bee hive are proposed to encourage more public interest in the garden.

Everyone did amazing today and I hope you all enjoyed your first GoodGym Session.


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Galleywall Nature Reserve
The Galleywall Nature Reserve is a small plot of land which has been owned by Southwark Housing for decades.

The Galleywall Nature Reserve is a small plot of land which has been owned by Southwark Housing for decades. It was used by the adjacent Galleywall School for some time before the school closed. It has been maintained by a group of volunteers, the Friends of Galleywall Nature Reserve, since 2004, under an ongoing long-term agreement with the council.

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