It was a lovely morning on the banks of the Thames as we gathered for our monthly visit to the Ham Lands to do our bit for the conservation of the nature reserve. It was brilliant to see two new joiners to Richmond GG back amongst the action - a very warm welcome to the Ham Lands gang to Sarah-Jane and Peter. Also great to see newly appointed Richmond AA Liz there with her kids and the family dog - Ham Lands is a task perfectly suited for extra helpers and canine friends!

We were set to work on an area we have been working on previously. The job at hand was to cut down and clear brambles and other spiky weeds and we set to with loppers, gathering the cuttings up into big sacks and depositing them in the wooded areas close to our patch.

The other fun for the morning was that Taskforce stalwart Jack was walking the Thames Path Challenge, a 50km route wending its way along the river to Runnymede. With live communication through Monika who was doing part of the walk with him, we coordinated the end of the task and visit to the Swiss Bakery with a dash to Teddington Lock to cheer him on his way, a Hi-Jack of the very best kind.

The morning was a perfect example of how GoodGym Richmond is such a lovely community to be a part of, as well as introducing more people to the joys of the Swiss Bakery - and Peter to the particular joys of their flammenkuchen! Looking forward to the next one on 8th October - sign up here! https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/helping-the-happy-ham-landers-86bc64b9-5d1b-4099-bc51-9d24af8d072d