Goodgym Islington members met up at the Highbury Quadrant greening project for our first gardening related group community task of 2021! Fantastic to see plenty of familiar faces and to welcome first timer Louisa.

Frannie, the green fingered powerhouse in charge of the Octopus Community Network was surprised to find a large delivery of building aggregate, bags of compost and loose pebbles had been dropped off on the street immediately in front of the Highbury Quadrant housing estate. This was not expected, and not convenient!

Luckily, we had a solid team of Goodgym runners arriving to help out on Thursday evening, and we got right to work with moving these heavy items off the neighbourhood parking bays, and over to the Highbury Quadrant meadows. We shared roles between us, switching from shoveling rocks and gravel, and then wheelbarrowing and carrying buckets and bags between the street and the gardens. We threw a slight spanner in the works when we attempted to drag the first bag full of building material in one go, and split the bottom of the sack just as we approached the gardens, but John and Ernestas quickly scooped up and swept the spilled rocks and gravel in no time.

After just over an hour of hard graft, we successfully deposited all of the rocks, gravel and compost into the garden play area, ready for local school groups to visit soon. The plan was to make all of the paths safe to run around on, even when wet and muddy. The space looks really lovely (an amazing renovation since when we first started helping here in late 2019), but certainly needs for Goodgym assistance over the coming months- we will be back soon!

More Octopus Community projects can be signed up to here:

https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/back-to-market-road-gardens

https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/new-task-partington-community-garden