Tuesday 24th February
Report written by Graham Johnson
Seven GoodGymmers set out today to wage war on one of the less glamorous foes of East London: rubbish. And wow… there was a lot of it.
The Journey
A few of us kicked things off with a run from the London Aquatics Centre, warming up nicely before the main event. The air at the Aquatics Centre: fresh. The air under the bridge between Drapers Fields and Chobham Manor School: not so much.
The Task
The area around the bridge turned out to be extremely heavily littered — the kind of spot where you look around and instantly know:
“Yes, this is why GoodGym exists.”
Broken glass? tick
Mystery smells? tick
Random items that really shouldn’t be outdoors? tick
Enough rubbish to fill the Olympic pool? Maybe not, but we did manage to fill around 20 bags, which isn’t bad for a Saturday mission.
The Team
All seven of us got stuck in, spreading out across the site like a well‑coordinated litter‑picking strike force. The teamwork was top tier — grabbers grabbing, bags filling, jokes flying.
The Impact
By the end, the path looked cleaner, safer, and significantly less like a post‑festival campsite. It was one of those tasks where the difference was instantly noticeable — exactly the kind of satisfying GoodGym magic that reminds you why we do this.
Newham
This task will help refugees and people seeking asylum receive suitable, good-quality essentials more quickly by supporting Care4Calais to sort and distribute donations efficiently.
