A group of volunteers ran along the canal path to the community garden at Alice Park. We did some fun tasks to help improve the fantastic community-led gardening project that is based there. We had lots of fun and enjoyed being outside in nature for the evening.

Well done on 100, Joe!

We met at our usual spot outside the leisure centre in town and I shared the latest news with the group. The first item on the agenda was a massive congratulations to Joe (our very own 'Master of all things punny') who was going to be earning his 100th good deed that evening. Well done, Joe! This is an incredible achievement and something for us to all aspire towards.

Welcome Alice and Richard!

It was great to welcome Alice and Richard who were 'on tour' from GoodGym Bristol. Thanks for coming over and lending a hand at the task last night and please come back soon!

In other news I have a meeting with some of the team from GoodGym HQ next week so please let me know if you have any feedback or questions you want me to pass on. Emily also shared news about a fantastic race/event coming up soon at Cheddar Gorge that some of us have signed up to; see the link below at the bottom for more info! I then introduced the task for the evening, we did a warm-up as a group and then we got on our way.

It was just the one swan, actually!

We are blessed in Bath being based near a beautiful and peaceful canal path. We chose to run along this route (pausing to do some walking lunges on the way) where we spotted some swans in the canal. We were speedy and made it to Alice Park with plenty of time.

We met our host, Kathy, at the park and she gave an introduction to the project for those who hadn't visited before. A group of volunteers transformed a section of Alice Park (off to the left behind the hedge) into a community gardening project over 10 years ago. The team of volunteers have cultivated the land and grow a variety of produce including fruit, vegetables, herbs and flowers. Absolutely anyone can get involved and help with the gardening tasks and also everyone is welcome to enjoy the produce of the garden that is grown for free (although a small donation or some time to help out in the garden is really appreciated!)

We had 3 main tasks last night and we split into groups to make the best use of our time.

Will(ow) they or won't they?

One group spent the evening organising and preparing willow branches. There was a big pile of them left to one side of the garden and the team had to find some decent-sized branches, use some loppers to cut off the smaller shoots and then neatly pile them up.

Old sage and wisdom

Another team used the willow branches to make a fence around a bed of flowers. There have been lots of excited dogs that like to jump into the flowers and herbs that grow in the bed and it is hoped that the new fence will act as a barrier to stop them! Kathy showed the group of runners how to weave the willow together around some stakes in the ground to make a secure barrier using the tension in the wood. This required patience and team work from the volunteers to make sure that there were no gaps and that the fence had structural integrity. Nice work team!

I'm not mud, I'm just disappointed

The third team were sieving compost (yes, that is actually a thing that people do!). This was a fun (and muddy!) task to get involved with. The compost has been maturing in a container since the last time we visited and 'turned' the compost before Christmas. Our task here was to use a mesh net and a bucket to sieve out any sticks, stones, large pieces of mud or snail shells from the compost. We then spread it over a flower bed to make the perfect environment for growing new plants. Among the compost we found a rather large grub that we think will turn into a beetle (which is really good for the health of the garden) and we made sure to tuck him back into the remaining compost.

Thanks Kathy - we shall return!

We sad goodbye and thanks to Kathy for taking the time to host us for the evening. We had lots of fun and we will be returning again in a few months time. Thanks Kathy!

Thanks!

Thanks to Ollie for kindly offering to backmark for us and thanks to Joe for the awesome multi-dimensional pun this week!

Upcoming runs:

• We have a great Community Mission on Sat 27th April at The Orchard
• We are also doing a really fun Community Mission on Sun 28th April as part of the 2019 Worldwide City Nature Challenge
• Next week: we have a fun outdoor task helping at Cleveland Pools
• In June there is an exciting race in Cheddar Gorge that some of GG Bath have already signed up for